Followed
by Tsubasa Kya
Summary: With a killer hot on Kagome's heels, will she live to tell Inuyasha how she feels? And with the Black Syndicate kidnapping Ran, will Heiji and Shin'ichi be able to cooperate with Inuyasha to get the girls back? Inuyasha xover. ShinRan. InuKag.
1. Bad Feeling

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer__: I do not own anything. Okay I will tell you now, I happen to prefer the Japanese names for the characters better than their American names, so that's why I use them. A brief breakdown of who is who in America versus Japan will be provided on the first chapter only. Unfortunately I do not know every character's name, and so will be making up some class-A bull apart from the usual crap you'll find in my stories. _

_Case Closed will begin after CC Volume 14, and Inuyasha… I just randomly chose a spot for… the story goes on forever anyway… _

Bold names will be used throughout the story:

Jimmy Kudo is **Shin'ichi Kudo  
****Conan Edogawa **(aka Shin'ichi) remains the same  
Rachel Moore is **Ran Mori  
**Dr. Herschel Agasa is **Dr. Hiroshi Agasa  
**Richard Moore is **Kogoro Mori  
**Booker Kudo (Shin'ichi's father) is **Yusaku Kudo  
**Vivian Kudo (Shin'ichi's mother) is **Yukiko Kudo  
**Harley Hartwell is** Heiji Hattori  
**Martin Hartwell (Heiji's father) is **Toshiro Hattori  
**Mrs. Hartwell (Hieji's mother) is **Shizuka Hattori**  
George Kaminski is **Genta Kojima  
**Mitch Tennison is **Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya  
**Amy Yeager is **Ayumi Yoshida  
**Titan Elementary School is **Teitan**** Elementary School  
**Titan High School is **Teitan**** High School**

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Chapter One

Kagome's staring contest with Inuyasha ended with a harshly spat out 'sit' after which he did, five feet under the normal level of where the ground should be. Usually she felt slightly bad about such a powerful spell, but he'd dragged her hither and thither for four years now and she promised her mother she would return to her time today.

'Fat chance of that actually happening,' her mind supplied as a persistent Inuyasha followed her again. She was halfway to the well, so if she sat him one more time and all out sprinted to the well, she might even make it. "Inuyasha," she opened her mouth to say it, but he literally tackled her and covered her mouth, keeping her from saying it.

A furious blush spread across her face as she realized he was pinning her to the ground, his hand to her mouth to keep her from yelling, and there was a rock poking into her back in a very annoying manner. "Don't say it!" Inuyasha said hoarsely. "Don't scream," he told her seriously. He carefully removed his hand from her mouth; no one was around, but both knew she had a mighty set of lungs that would bring Sango and Miroku running.

She finally realized the seriousness of the situation. Inuyasha had gone crazy. Or she was having a really bad, painful nightmare. That rock in her back felt very real, and her yellow pack was a few feet away in a state of disarray as all her things were now as sprawled around as she was.

At this point, she didn't dare sit him; doing so would only make him crash head first into her and they'd both be stuck in a pit. She knew from experience how much it hurt to have a one-hundred-sixty pound inu-hanyou crashing down upon her person in an involuntary manner. She'd made the mistake once, and didn't need a repeat lesson to make it stick.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" Kagome demanded in a panicked tone. "Whether or not you want me to, I have to go home! My future depends on it!" 'Oh please, oh please get off of me,' she thought, more panicked in her head than she was aloud. The fact was, she was being straddled, and ready to freak out about it.

"It's not like I'm gonna kill you!" Inuyasha groused at her.

'Stupid as usual, and that is so not why I'm uncomfortable!' Kagome thought. 'I swear, him thinking would be a miracle! Get off, get off… yeah, screaming internally at him is really gonna work,' her mind provided sarcastically. "Tackling me could have really hurt me!" she snapped, but really just wanted to scream 'Help! Murder! Rape!'

"Just let me say what I gotta say!" he told her.

She stopped struggling and gulped. This was not happening, it couldn't be happening, if it was happening, she was a fish on land—which, given the evidence of evolution, wasn't all that impossible. She nodded slowly, feeling the twigs and leaves tangling in her hair.

"Geez, Kagome, you gotta make everything hard don't you?" he demanded. "All I wanted to say was I got a bad feelin' if you go back!" he pushed himself off of her, sitting on the ground to glare down at her prone form.

"Well, what about my future, Inuyasha?" she demanded heatedly. "The jewel's not the only responsibility I have!" She sat up so fast it made even Inuyasha dizzy watching her. Her hands raked through her disheveled hair, turning it into a rat's nest. "I have school too!"

"But I got a bad feelin' somethin' bad's gonna happen if you go back. That's why I don't want you goin' back!" Inuyasha insisted, folding his hands up in his sleeves.

She glared at him. "You always have a bad feeling! And you never want me going back! I'm going back and you better not stop me," she told him seriously, scrabbling over to her backpack and shoving her things back in it.

When she finally had it all back in the bag, she started storming toward the well and he let out a sound very similar to what Jaken voiced when Sesshoumaru started leaving him behind. "Grawk!" Inuyasha cried, scrambling to his feet. "Kagome, a bad feelin'! I got a bad feeling! You can't go back, or somethin' bad's gonna happen!"

"It's like the boy who cried wolf, seriously!" Kagome said, with her very own inu-hanyou in tow. "You've been saying that for a long time now, and nothing bad happened when you've said it."

"Fine then!" Inuyasha growled. "Why don't you just go home and stay there if you can't commit yourself to this?" he stormed off into the forest as tears threatened to spill out of Kagome's eyes. "Useless wench!"

"Jerk! I didn't even say anything!" she yelled before taking off for the well. "And you'll see!" she said as she stomped in her direction. "I won't come back, if I'm so useless to you!" Angry by his behavior toward her, Kagome jumped into the well without another word said.

Modern day Tokyo was dark when Kagome left the well-house. Even her home was dark and as she trudged toward it, she let thoughts of a nice hot bath and a long rest filled night in a comfortable bed fill her mind and shove Inuyasha out of it. As she fumbled with her shoes by the door, she heard steps coming down the stairs and light flooded the hall as the switch was flipped.

"Whose there?" her mother called out hesitantly before seeing Kagome. "Oh, it's just you…Thank goodness…" Kagome looked at her mother and saw the woman pulling her bathrobe tight to her form. Her mother explained, "Grandpa went north to visit some friends last week and since he's been gone we've been robbed twice!"  
Kagome dropped her bag by the front door with no real intention of carrying it all upstairs. Her mother would want to wash the clothes in it anyway. "Twice?" Kagome asked. She began wondering what if Inuyasha was right and there was something bad going on?

"It's no big deal… but you promised to come home this morning… I had the whole family here for a surprise birthday party but you didn't show."

Kagome was unimpressed. "Mama, 'the whole family' includes me, you, Souta, Grandpa, and the Hattori's. That's not a very big surprise, since you do it every single year." She sighed though. "I argued with Inuyasha all yesterday and he said I could come home, but then this morning we ran into Naraku and that was a big mess in itself and after that Naraku said something to Inuyasha which made Inuyasha's determination to keep me there come back ten-fold."

Mama smiled a little. "Well, your brother Heiji was disappointed he didn't get to see you. I told him you went to a friend's house and decided to stay an extra day. Perhaps on your way home from school tomorrow, you could stop by and see him?"

Kagome wandered into the kitchen, in search of something to snack on. She hadn't eaten much all day because of the unfruitful battle with Naraku. "Mama, the Hattori's live down in Osaka. I don't think popping in for a visit after school really is an option."

Mama crossed the kitchen and went into the cupboard. She pulled down a box of cheese crackers—Kagome's favorite. Kagome had a hard time keeping from squealing loudly as she snatched them and hugged them and then began to tear into the box. Mama chuckled. "Well, your father wanted to move back up here so he could be close by, and see you more often."

"Really?" Kagome felt excitement (not cheese cracker induced) burbling just beneath the surface of her flesh. She always did love seeing her dad, but the opportunity didn't often happen. Twice a year he would make the trip with his wife Shizuka and Kagome and Souta's half-brother Heiji. There weren't any hard feelings between Mama and their father; the two had simply fallen out of love and decided to part ways, to be 'just friends' and that worked better than being together did.

"Yes, really." Mama took out the makings for tea and set herself to work preparing two cups of it, despite the late hour. "He's not terribly close, because Shizuka was uncomfortable with the move, but he's close enough that you could ride the subway."

"Has dad been told of my 'illnesses'?" Kagome asked her mother, though she was pretty sure he hadn't been if Heiji didn't know about it. Her mother shook her head and set two cups of tea on the table. "But mama, it'll be real hard if I 'get sick' while he's close enough to come see me, and finds that I'm conveniently missing. He might even freak out and begin a full-born investigation."

They shared a smile. "I know, dear, I know. Not only that, but Heiji's as much a detective as your father. But don't you worry. I'll take care of talking to your father, but as of yet, he doesn't know. So," she swiftly changed the subject. "How long are you going to be home for this time?"

Kagome stood in great irritation. "Forever!" she scowled. "I am never ever in my life going back! We'll see how useless I am when I'm not there!" Kagome stormed out of the kitchen and tromped upstairs, leaving a glass of tea and her cheese crackers behind. Mama raised an eyebrow at Kagome's retreat but cleaned up the mess and went to bed. Kagome would break down in a week or two and go back, in other words.

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**End.**

_This chapter editted and reposted._


	2. Bad Happenings

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe._

Chapter Two

"Expelled?" Kagome's knees felt weak. Inuyasha's words echoed in her mind. _Somethin' bad's gonna happen if you go back…_ She should have listened. Now it really was like the boy who cried wolf, because that big wolf finally came.

"Here, have a seat, Higurashi." The principal said not unkindly. He helped her into a seat before his desk and sighed. "I'm being pressured by the school board to do something. I'm terribly sorry. You're not really being expelled, just transferred to a school that can meet your needs."

"But, but that's not fair! I've been working hard, it's just… I get sick…" the lame excuse fell from her lips in a manner that even she couldn't bring herself to believe it. She hung her head, wishing the ground would swallow her up. And after last night's declaration to stay home forever, it was semi-amusing that now she just wanted to go back. Even facing Naraku and Sesshoumaru simultaneously by herself would be better than this.

"Please understand, Higurashi… you're a bright student. I don't know what's happening in your life, but you come to school beaten and bruised, your family makes excuses that you're ill, but you've never been seen in the hospital for these illnesses." She felt herself turning green. 'He followed up,' she thought. 'He looked into it…'

"Please, just give me another chance!" Kagome looked at her principal, a pleading look on her face. "Please, I promise, I'll do better than ever, I really will!"

"Kagome…may I call you Kagome?" she nodded glumly in the pathetic hope that he would allow her to stay at school. "Your friends said they visited your home last month and saw a man there, beating you up and yelling at you. What's going on?" If possible, she turned even greener. She'd forgotten about last month's 'incident'.

Inuyasha had been injured so she used the excuse that he needed to recover to come back. That day, when she got home from school, Inuyasha had been waiting for her. He began complaining that he was bored, so he said he was going to teach her some self defense. They went out to the back yard and she joked that she'd take it easy on him since he was injured. Even injured, he was a good fighter. It was when he was teaching her to block someone trying to trip her that her friends came. She noticed them, and forgot to block the trip attack, thus ending flat on her back.

Oh, how had things escalated to be this bad? "Nothing's going on at home," Kagome said heatedly. She was more than upset at her friends. They'd met Inuyasha on more than one occasion; they knew he was a good guy even if he was a little gruff. Why'd they have to go blabbing their mouths?

"Kagome, I'm sure you're bound to say that, but if something's going on at home… if someone's hurting you…" the principal started, but Kagome found the energy to stand. She gave him her most furious look, but he seemed unperturbed by it.

"No one is hurting me, other than you!" That caused him to cringe. "All I want is a normal life, and to study, and to go to college, but no! Because I'm different, you're punishing me!" she grabbed her backpack and opened it, upturning it so that all the heavy books fell out. "Here's your stupid books! I'll just be stupid for the rest of my life!" she tossed the bag on the floor, on top of the pile of books, and stormed out of the room. She slammed the door so hard that the window cracked.

The principal sighed and looked to a different door that came into his office. It opened, and in walked a tall figure, businesslike, and dressed in black. His silver hair had a moonlight quality shine to it. "There, I did it." The principal sighed, looking at his hands as if they were covered in blood. Perhaps they were, just the blood had yet to show.

"Very good." The man smiled eerily cold. He went to leave the room.

The principal looked up again at the man. "My payment?" he asked.

The cold man turned his strange gold eyes onto the principal. "Ah yes… thank you for reminding me." He stated. He lifted one black gloved hand to his mouth, peeling off the glove using his teeth to show dangerously sharp claws and a pale skinned hand. He held up two fingers, and the principal looked confused. Then, with a downward sweep of his arm, a whip made of noxious green poison light sliced not only through the principal but also through the desk the principal was sitting on, and the floor underneath. The principal didn't have a chance even to scream before dying and his blood washed the carpeting.

The cold man simply used his teeth then to pull the black glove on and left.

Kagome grumpily walked down the street. "It's only nine!" she muttered under her breath. "What the heck do I do now?" Technically she wasn't walking down the street. She'd climbed up onto a wall and was walking on that like Inuyasha usually did. But she was following that, and it followed the streets.

"Wench!" snapped a voice loud enough in her ear that she was startled and ended up taking a dive off the wall. She heard a hissed swear before her upper arm was grabbed and she was steadied on the wall at the expense of a newly made sore arm. Soon as she was steadied, she glared at Inuyasha.

"Did you have to scream? I could have been hurt! Again!" she yelled at him, poking his chest and advancing on him in a menacing fashion that didn't intimidate him. He simply grabbed her hand, raised one eyebrow, and twisted her arm up behind her back. She was so not in the mood for public displays of her training.

She did just what he taught her, ignoring the pain in her arm and shoulder as she shoved her body back into him and they tilted off the wall. "Damn it!" Inuyasha growled, releasing her. She had enough time to save herself from a painful landing, but he landed on his head.

"I thought I was useless to you!" Kagome snapped at him, attracting the attention of pedestrians.

"I was angry!" Inuyasha said, standing. He looked around for the baseball cap her mother made him wear. Kagome picked it up and held it out to him. He looked at it for a second before jamming it on his head. "I didn't mean it, and I want you to come back! I'm the only one who can protect you, and bad things are gonna start happening if you don't come back."

"Geez, Inuyasha! You're like a dog with a"—his glare made her think twice about finishing her sentence. At least aloud… "Look, the only bad thing that happened was my principal expelled me." He gave her a confused look, and so she attempted to explain. "Because attendance is very important, and I'm away from school more than I'm there, I've been expelled. That means, I can't go to that school now."

He cheered up and asked, "So that means you can come back and stay since you ain't got your teaching thing, right?" Sometimes he was too bright.

"No, I still have other things, like family!" she insisted. She sighed when her words went in one ear and out the other. He was walking with his chin held up high. She hurried to catch up to him, a sigh escaping her lips. "Hey, Inuyasha, would you mind if I waited to go back until a little later?" She wouldn't listen even if he told her she had to come back right away.

But asking was nice. "Huh? What for?" he gave her a suspicious look.

"Well, my dad moved up from Osaka. I called him this morning and promised him I'd come visit him. He's still unpacking, so I won't stay there long, but I haven't seen him in almost a year since I missed Souta's last birthday." She saw him go into what she called 'brooding mode'. It happened when he thought of his mother and father. But she watched him nod.

"'Course you can. Just come back to me later then." She nodded and he followed her home. She felt safe with him by her, and regretted when he said a rough 'see ya later' before disappearing into the well house. She made her way into the house to relay her bad news to her mother.

"Mama, I"—she trailed off when she noticed her mother wringing her hands and watching the television in anticipation in the living room. "Mama, what's up?"

Mama pointed at the television. "Your father just called. He said to turn the television on and… oh, look!" Mama grabbed up the remote and turned the television volume higher. Kagome looked at the television and saw a reporter woman with blond hair, red lips, and a red jacket standing in front of what she recognized as her school.

_"—as you can see, the recent stream of murders and robberies has extended now to broad daylight and in a school. The authorities are baffled by what's happened. Unfortunately, the authorities will not release the name of the victim, but students are being allowed to call home on cell phones and school lines to assure their families that they're okay. Once everyone has been questioned," _the reporter was saying.

Mama rushed across the room and hugged Kagome. "Oh, honey, I thought it was you! You need to call your father, right this minute! Get on that phone, right now, and you call him! He's worried sick for you."

Kagome nodded, and again, Inuyasha's warning rang in her mind. _Bad stuff's gonna happen…_ This was bad… could it have been a demon? She knew she shouldn't have taken the jewel shards to school… but she'd done that before and nothing ever happened. Maybe it was just a coincidence. It had only been an hour since she'd left school too. She'd wandered hither-thither until Inuyasha snuck up on her.

She picked up the phone, searching her mother's posted list of numbers on the wall for her father's new one. A sudden thought hit her. Inuyasha had gone back. What if it was a demon? Should she get Inuyasha? No, it was just a coincidence. She dialed her father.

"Ai, is Kagome okay?" she heard her father say suddenly. Her mouth went dry. She didn't know what to say.

She said, "Dad? I'm okay, but…" she bit back tears—where had they come from?

There was an audible sigh of relief. "But?"

"But I've been expelled, and, and I left the school just an hour ago, and what if something bad really bad happens and what if it's not just a coincidence, and what if someone's really after me, and what if Inuyasha was right, and, and, I'm rambling, like…" she couldn't help but cry.

"Don't worry, love… I'm going to send Heiji to pick you up, okay? I want you here."

Kagome choked back a cry. "Sorry, dad, I just can't. I think I'm just going to jump into the well now." She heard her father protesting that she'd get hurt if she did that as she lowered the phone down and hung up. How disturbing was it that Inuyasha had been right? She needed to talk to Inuyasha. She'd tell him she'd never leave the feudal era again.

A moment later she'd jumped over the edge of the well. Seconds after that, she found out that the bottom of the well was a lot harder than she remembered. Peering up, she saw with no small amount of dismay that there was a roof far up there. It was very disheartening, and made her curl up on her side, holding her ankle. Her tears were as much pain induced as they were from creeped-out emotional trauma. 'Murder, expulsion, the well not working, Inuyasha being right… what next?' she demanded in her mind. No answer was forth coming.

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**End.**


	3. Bad Man

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe._

_**I am taking a lot of liberties with this story; thanks in advance for not freaking out!**

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Chapter Three

Kagome pulled her sorry rear over the lip of the well after much struggling. She couldn't rest any weight on her left ankle now, thanks to landing on it like an idiot. "This is me, looking stupid," she muttered. She was sweating already, and all she had done was climb a ladder.

But mama would think she successfully made it through to the other side so wouldn't think to check. Really, there was no reason she should believe that Kagome wouldn't make it through the magical portal. Kagome made the painful journey up the stairs to the door of the well and could go no further. She leaned on the door to the well and called for her mother.

"Mama!" she cried, and after a moment of agony standing there, she realized she was digging her nails into the wood door frame. "Mama, help! I think I broke my ankle!" As her mother came out of the house, Kagome nearly fainted because she shifted her body just slightly.

"Oh, sweetheart, what happened?" she asked as she helped Kagome over to the closest seat. The bench in the courtyard was all Kagome could manage. Mama was confused. Kagome had run off so fast, she'd assumed Kagome would go to the past and argue with Inuyasha then come back for some ramen on Inuyasha's orders.

But this? This was completely unexpected, and definitely did not please her. "The well, I think I broke it, Inuyasha said something bad would happen, and I broke it because I didn't listen to him and I ignored him and it's so stupid because I should have listened but mama my ankle hurts so much!" Kagome cried loudly when her mother took the ankle in question and carefully peeled first her shoe and then her sock off her foot.

Mama poked and prodded the ankle gently, turning it over in her hands. A long time ago, she had been a nurse for a small doctor's clinic. That had been before Souta was born and the divorce, but she still retained the knowledge she'd gained through years of college and work experience. "It's not broken," she assured Kagome.

"Yes, it is! It would have let me through if it weren't broken, but it's broken and I broke it!" Kagome bit her lip to keep from crying out anymore.

Mama felt the need to chuckle a bit at her daughter's panicking. "I meant your ankle dear," she said calmly.

"That's broken too!" Kagome insisted, hissing when her mother put her foot on the ground gently.

"It's just a sprain. Your father's on his way here now. You really scared him, saying what you said. Do you want me to still explain what's going on," Kagome's breathing was coming in pants now.

Kagome shook her head but the violent movement of her body upset her ankle and she released a heavy breath in a long hiss. "No," she ground out. "If it's broke, I can't disappear, can I?" She was more than confused though. She'd seen Inuyasha disappear down that well just a few minutes before she hopped over the rim. And he would be angry that she didn't come back. He'd be so mad. "Dad can remain ignorant to the truth of the world for now, but I have to find out what happened to the well."

Her mother told her to wait where she was—not like Kagome could go anywhere—and she went into the house for some wrap bandage. She came out again with the crutches Souta had used when he broke his leg the year before and a screw driver to adjust the height. She also had the first aid kit and watching her juggle all that made Kagome bite back pained humor.

Several minutes later, her ankle was wrapped and the throbbing had lessened. Her mother had given her a quick tutorial of how to use the crutches. She couldn't find the courage to climb up the daunting stairs to her room, so she made a nest on the living room couch.

She had meant what she said to her mother. She did have to find out what happened to the well. "Mama, will you bring me some of grandpa's old text books?"

Mama peered at her daughter, having to peel her eyes away from the television to do so. It was still as frightening as before when she thought her daughter might have been targeted for the jewel. "What do you want those for, dear?" she asked.

"Maybe there's something in those, like a history of the shrine, and some information on the nature of the well…" It was hard to speak coherently when all she wanted to do was cry and throw a fit and react to the murder like a normal girl would. Unfortunately that wasn't likely to happen. Death was nothing new to her; she'd seen a lot of it over the last four years.

"Sure, dear." She wiped her hands on her apron one last time and grabbed the remote, shutting the television off before leaving the room. The house stilled into silence, the only sounds being that of Mama scuffling around in the kitchen and the brittle pages of old books being turned as Kagome searched for any piece of information about the well. She already knew there was very little hope to find anything.

xXx

Heiji smirked down and who he knew to be his arch rival Shin'ichi Kudo, only Shin'ichi wasn't masquerading as himself anymore. He was now 'Conan Edogawa' and Conan was an eight year old. It was quite confusing for Heiji at first, and he didn't really believe it when he first thought about it.

Figuring out that mystery had been in and of itself a difficult task. Even when he'd figured it out, that the eight year old Conan was really Shin'ichi, it was incredibly hard to believe. But now, Heiji had one up on the 'Great Detective Kudo'. Well, actually he had several feet on his rival…

It seemed the irritated detective could stand the suspense no longer. He snapped, "Why the hell"—Heiji snickered, interrupting the supposed young child.

"Language." Shin'ichi ground his teeth together. Heiji continued, smirk still in place. "Your girl's still not feelin' good, so"—this time Shin'ichi interrupted Heiji.

"She's not my girl! How many times do I have to say that before idiot you can remember it?"

Heiji had been waiting for that. "Good, 'cause then, you don't mind if I make a move?" he smirked and started walking away, his long legs taking him quickly away from the young boy who had to take three steps with every one of Heiji's just to keep up.

"Leave Ran alone!" Shin'ichi insisted, feeling incredibly small. "And why are you here?" It bothered Shin'ichi to have Heiji popping by his school, seemingly to pick him up. It was bad enough that Shin'ichi had to go through elementary school again. To have that seen by his arch rival?

"My pops decided t' move back up here. I used the excuse t' pick you up so I didn't haveta help my ma organize th' house."

Shin'ichi grumbled, "Great, so I'm going to have to put up with you more often?"

"Aw, it ain't that bad." Heiji said. "So, ya scared?"

Shin'ichi looked up at Heiji. The much taller—but not technically that much older—boy was walking with his hands folded behind his head. He was entirely at ease, despite the situation going on in the city. For weeks, the city had been subject to a series of seemingly random robberies, all done by according to witnesses, a man in black. The witnesses also claimed that the suspect had very long silver hair and gold eyes.

The authorities could not find anyone who matched the descriptions given by the witnesses. They all said he had no problem being seen, but when they saw him they could only stare at his eyes and how cold they had been. The man seemed to target only the places that had no security cameras—residential homes, in other words.

Then there had been a string of murders, and this morning's school incident made a total of four. The first three murders had been done in places without a camera. The first victim was Yoi Mana, a housewife taking a shortcut to her house through a dark alley. Through questioning her distraught husband and two children, she took that alleyway home from the store every time she bought groceries. She'd been sliced in two, directly across the middle. The reason the people at the morgue were confused was because their autopsy showed them that the victim had been sliced in half in a single sweep of whatever weapon was used.

The second victim was found one week after the first, but according to the autopsy and coroner's report, she died only three days after the first. Her name was Tea Sumimasu and she was found in an abandoned warehouse. There appeared to be no reason she would be in that warehouse, as far as anyone could tell. She was twenty-three and just before she was killed she had taken time off work for vacation. She had no family, no significant other, and no friends. Her boss had filed the missing person's report when she didn't show for work two days after she was expected back, because she'd never been late a day in her history working there. The manner she had died in was identical to the first victim's, being sliced down the middle with—as the coroner stated—a single slice of the weapon.

The third victim was Akari Gouran, a fifteen year old whose death baffled the authorities even more than the first two. She was skipping rope with her friends in a park when she left them to go to the bathroom. After she'd been gone over a half an hour, her friends decided to go check on her and found that she was dead just outside the men's bathroom door, but this time not only had she been sliced in half, but it had been a vertical cut, straight down the middle, and still the coroner said it was a single slice with a blade that was not serrated.

Despite all this, all of the deaths were to have occurred after sunset, creating a pattern even if it wasn't any sort of lead. Now, with the apparent murder across town at the school, frightened parents were forcing the schools to shut down and children were being picked up. All of the first victims were female, so it stood to logic that the next one would be female as well.

It was a question of whether or not the school would have cameras in the place the murder happened, and if the suspect—they still had no leads on who that could be—had known about the camera.

"I'm not scared," Shin'ichi admitted. "Just confused. Inspector Meguire wants Mori to help on the murder case, but he's so busy with people bringing him cases on things that were stolen from them that he just doesn't have time. And he's not having much luck on the robbery cases either. He's got zilch for a description, other than _long hair the color of moonshine, clothes as black as night, _and _eerie golden eyes colder than ice_. When asked for any other information on him, the witnesses start shrieking they could only look at his eyes."

"Damn," Heiji whistled. "Well, the murder stuff is kinda why my pops was paid t' relocate. Inspector Meguire gave pops an offer he couldn't turn down, probably 'cause Mori turned down th' murder case. Apparently pops and th' old fat snub"—Inspector Meguire—"go back a long time, an' the Inspector pulled th' Ai card."

Shin'ichi couldn't ever remember being curious about Heiji before, but he labeled now as the first time. "The _Ai_ card? What's that supposed to mean?"

Heiji grinned. "She's sissy's ma."

"Okay, that helped," Shin'ichi drawled sarcastically. "Who is Sissy?"

"Oh, yeah, you don't know about sissy, do ya?" Shin'ichi shook his head and felt great relief as they turned onto the street that would take them to the Mori's office-slash-apartment. He'd be able to get away from Heiji. Still, he wanted to know what 'the Ai card' was. "Ai's used ta be my ma's best friend. See, my ma and pops got together. Then pops married Ai, and nine months later, both me an' sissy were born. I'm six days older than sissy."

Shin'ichi shook his head again. "Then how are your parents together now? And what's the Ai card?" It sounded like a really twisted version of a premarital affair, but Heiji didn't sound like it bothered him. Well, of course it probably would explain how crazy Heiji was… Personal opinions aside…

"After my little half-brother was born, my pops an' Ai separated and divorced. They were friends, but not happy in wedlock, so they split and pops married my mom. Happy ever since." Heiji grinned at Shin'ichi. 'He's annoyed with me,' he thought with amusement. 'Good. Let him be.'

"And the Ai card?" Shin'ichi emphasized his desire to know by stressing each word.

Heiji's grin widened. "Kids shouldn't be so nosy." He told Shin'ichi and backed away from a kick to the shin that would definitely hurt with those punch packing shoes. He turned to jog off. "See ya later, brat! Ma wants me t' put together Kagome an' Souta's rooms."

Shin'ichi grumpily went to make the climb up to the Mori's place. It wasn't until he'd actually gotten inside that something clicked in his brain. 'Kagome? As in _Kagome the Sick_?' He shook it off. It wasn't really important, just a student in another district who had a reputation for being sick. There were also rumors about the same Kagome not actually being sick but instead she skipped school to join a gang. 'Well, some of the things people say she's been sick with are rather unreasonable, but rumors do spread uncontrollably…'

His first action once inside the Mori's apartment was to go straight to Ran's room and check on her. He walked past Kogoro Mori who was sitting at his desk with a bottle of whisky in the middle of the day, and files of information he was scuffling through as if he'd be able to make sense of any of it while half intoxicated.

Ran was up and folding the laundry, despite the fact that she looked like a car had run over her, then backed up and run over her again. "Ran! You should be in bed!" he told her, but she just turned to him and smiled. His heart jumped, although the Great Detective Kudo had no explanation as to why it would do that.

"Conan! I'm glad Heiji went to pick you up. I was so worried, especially after dad told me the news." She turned back to the laundry and continued the tedious task of matching Kogoro's socks—each one more identical to the first than the next. "I asked dad to pick you up, but he's busy and said to find someone else. I happened to have Heiji's cell phone number, so I called him and he readily agreed. He's such a good guy…"

'Happened to have?' Shin'ichi wondered where the jealous tone that showed in his thoughts had come from. Surely it had never been there before. He wasn't the type who got jealous, except that one time when… he wouldn't go there… 'And that guy isn't good. He's a sack of lime juice—_sour_ lime juice.'

"You should be in bed," he repeated. If she fell because she was sick, he wouldn't be able to catch her. 'Heiji could,' he thought bitterly and immediately amended, 'not that I care or anything!'

"I feel fine, Conan! You're such a worry-wart," Ran giggled. "Besides. I'm waiting for a call, so I have to stay up." Her eyes took on a distant glaze, and he wondered who she could be waiting for a call from.

'Probably Heiji, damn him, I'll kick his sorry ass!' "Who's gonna call, Ran?" No harm in finding out for sure.

"Oh, no one," Ran said and folded one sock into another with a passion that left a rip in the poor sock. Her face was scarlet colored.

"Okay." He said. 'Damn, damn, that Heiji!' he thought as he left the room and went into the kitchen. He grabbed the phone and redialed the last number called. Since Kogoro had a cell phone—at Inspector Meguire's insistence (also expense)—Ran was pretty much the only one who called from the home phone now, especially since the Mori's had two phone lines aside from the cell phone. Ran never called from the business phone line, so that left the home phone line.

The answering machine on the other end picked up, and he found himself astonished and confused. 'It's not Heiji?' he wondered as he listened to the answering machine message.

"Hello. You've reached the Kudo residence. No one is available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone. BEEP." He hung up, trying to figure out why Ran would feel the need to call him. 'No harm in finding out,' he thought.

He checked in on Ran again. She still stared dazedly off into space, her illness forcing her to at least sit down while she attempted to fold a sock into a tee-shirt. She was really out of it. Since she was so out of it, he figured he could slip out, race home using the skateboard that Doctor Agasa had given him, listen to her message and see what she wanted, then make it back without her realizing he was gone.

Kogoro was half drunk, so he probably wouldn't notice either. But Ran had instated a 'you do not leave the house except with an adult and even then only for school' curfew on 'Conan' since the girl in the park was killed. It was at times like this that he just wanted to shake her until she saw he was Shin'ichi not Conan.

As soon as his hand touched the front door knob, he was whirled on by the half drunk Kogoro. "And just where are you going?" Kogoro asked in a slurred voice, his eyes half dead from the drink and from lack of sleep. He was under a lot of pressure to find the thief who was robbing everyone.

"To the park," Shin'ichi lied.

To Shin'ichi's agreement, Kogoro nodded. "Jus' you know, stay 'way from murderer… murdererers…? Murderees?"

"Murderers," Shin'ichi provided the drunk man.

"Good. An' thiefes… thiefies?"

"Thieves?"

"Yes!" Kogoro turned back to his whiskey and work. "Stay 'way from murderers and thieves. 'Kay?"

"Okay, Mr. Mori!" Shin'ichi chirped, though he would much rather say, 'Whatever, idiot…' He turned back to the door, grabbing his skateboard from its perch beside the door. A few seconds later, he was skateboarding around civilians toward his parent's mansion.

xXx

"Mama, hey! I found something!" Kagome called to her mother in an excited tone. Her mother was only a few feet away again, but she was putting on her jacket. She had to go pick Souta up from school since it was being let out early, even though it bothered her greatly to leave Kagome alone in the house with the recent robberies. Still, mama would feel much better knowing both her children were in the same house and under her protection.

Ordinarily, she wouldn't have a problem with it even though the robberies were taking place all over. Unfortunately the shrine had been burgled twice while mama and Souta slept. She woke up and found that some of grandpa's favorite ancient relics were missing. She didn't report the losses, since personally they were things she didn't want hanging on the walls, but did hope grandpa wouldn't notice their absences.

Mama walked over to the couch Kagome rested on and peered over Kagome's shoulder. Kagome began reading aloud. _"Be thou miko, a test of three. Thy power shall leave ye body, one. Cannot thou survive as humbled human? Thy power shall return if ye survive as humbled human and on its own shall transform thy body to the forsaken nise-hanyou, two. Cannot thou survive with half your foe? If ye prove worthy as hanyou, thy power shall on its own transform thy body to the hated nise-youkai, three. If ye can see life as youkai do, thy power shall return thee to thy normal state of miko, and thy test of three shall have made a gracious, forgiving miko of thee."_

"That's wonderful, dear…" mama said uncertainly. "What does it mean?"

"Um, three tests?" Kagome shook her head uncertainly. "I don't know, I just thought it would be something important, since it talked about me. Well, not me in specific, but miko in general, oh and while you're out, will you pick up some peanut butter?"

Mama chuckled, but she didn't feel humored. 'Oh, strong Kagome… you're hurting, and scared, but at least you stopped crying. Inuyasha will return for you, maybe he'll know why the well won't work.' "I'll stop at the store, but you promise me you won't leave this house, and you'll keep the doors locked. Don't let anyone in, okay?" Kagome nodded; she had no intention of getting off the couch.

As mama left, Kagome shifted through the books some more. Mama had given her a notebook, so she wrote down any information she thought could be important. If for some reason, Inuyasha could get through the well even though she couldn't, he might be able to take the information she found to Kaede who could explain it better than the book did.

After several long minutes, Kagome had to struggle to get up off the couch, and use the crutches to make her way to the bathroom. It would be so much easier if she hadn't broken her ankle (her mother's assurances that it would only be sprained didn't help at all, since it still hurt so much). After she managed to finish up in the bathroom, she crutched her way to the kitchen.

"I'm so silly," she told herself humored. She'd told herself she wouldn't leave the couch, and now she was in the kitchen. "That's strange," Kagome muttered as she noticed the kitchen patio door to the back yard had been left open. She closed the sliding patio door, her brow creased, and locked the door. 'That's not like mama to leave the kitchen door open, especially after telling me to keep the doors locked.'

A crutching struggle later, she'd made it to the fridge and peered inside for something to drink. "Tomato juice!" she chirped, able to push the oddly open door aside easily as one of her favorite drinks swam in her vision. It was difficult, but she managed to pour herself a glass and with patience measured in centimeters, she struggled with the cup and the crutches back to the living room. She kept her eyes as much on the full glass as she did on the floor.

That was why after she had settled her leg on the couch carefully with one arm, only then did she notice she had a guest. Her eyes went incredibly wide, all color drained from her face, and some of the tomato juice sloshed all over her as it slipped out of her hand and she struggled to catch it. It was cold as it soaked her uniform, and almost glittered like blood staining the white couch.

He smiled, but her eyes had locked on those cold, merciless eyes. He was as pristine as he'd been the last time she faced him—only then she'd been with Inuyasha, and he'd been looking at Inuyasha not her. It had only been on few occasions that she'd been privileged to feel that stare, and it made her blood run cold. Death was staring her in the face, somehow the phrase fit. The glass trembled with her hand—she couldn't help it; she was very _afraid_. The last time they met, she called him an _arrogant, conceited jerk-face_.

He was garbed in his all black, a black dress shirt and black slacks, black shoes, black everything, but it was him. 'Why didn't I feel him here sooner?' she screamed in her mind. She should have, because now that she was concentrating fully on him, she could feel his power swirling in a refined, deadly fashion. He was more powerful now than he'd been back then. There was no doubt that he was the real one; he was not a mere reincarnation.

He sat in the chair just across the room, his hands resting on the arms of the chair, both hands covered in black gloves. His hair was not a strand out of place, braided long, hanging over his shoulder so he wasn't sitting on it.

Her stomach was doing flip-flops that really it shouldn't, and these weren't the 'oh my god, he's hot, butterflies in my stomach' type of flip-flops either. These were the 'oh my god, he's going to murder me, Inuyasha where are you now?' type. Her breathing was quickening with every moment he sat there smiling at her. Why was he smiling? Was he imagining ways to kill her because she called him a jerk-face?

He shifted to his feet and she opened her mouth to scream. No sound came out and she shrunk back against the couch, silent tears flowing down her face as he advanced on her.

* * *

**End.**

_Translation: "nise" means counterfeit!_


	4. Bad Boy

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe._

Chapter Four

_"Hi, Shin'ichi. It's Ran. I know, I know, you're real busy with cases all the time. I just… I heard about the murder at the school today. Dad said he got the inside scoop from the Inspector, and some girl is a suspect in the murder at school. At least, she was the last known person to see him alive. These murders have me real shaken. I just need to talk to you. If you can't make it in person, can you at least call?"_

Shin'ichi grumbled slightly about Ran's mother-hen behavior. He didn't understand why she acted the way she did. There really was no reason for it. But he pulled himself up to his full height (which was no longer considerable), grabbed his phone, adjusted his bowtie voice modulator, and then dialed the Mori's home phone.

'At least she's not calling and needing to talk to Heiji,' he thought jealously as the ring tone came through to his ear. He let the mental comment slide for now, even though he still had no idea where such thoughts were evolving from. "Hello, Mori residence." slurred Kogoro. "This's the Great Detective Mori speakin', an' doncha forget it!"

"Great opening line," Shin'ichi drawled carelessly, so glad to finally be able to talk to Kogoro in a manner and tone that he hadn't done in so long. That had to be one of the biggest things he missed aside from being able to pester Ran…okay, he could still do that, he just had to be careful that she didn't notice any similarities between himself and…well, himself (only much, much younger). Oh, and he hated that no one saw him as a capable adult these days.

"Oh, issue!" Kogoro snapped unhappily.

"Issue?" Shin'ichi inquired. "You have a lot of issues, most of which you never deal with and some that you probably never intend to."

"I said, _it's you_… brat! Don't call here an' harass me! I could kick your sorry ass any day, any time!" Kogoro boasted but then Shin'ichi heard a squeaking noise and a loud shout of, **"Don't talk to people like that, it's rude!"** He could imagine that Ran had just wrestled the phone away from her father.

The image was backed up as Ran's voice was abruptly speaking into the phone. "Ran speaking; Shin'ichi is that you?"

Shin'ichi grunted acknowledgment into the phone. "Ran, you sound awful." he scrounged his memory for when he last 'talked' to her on the phone. Of course, he knew everything going on in her life already, but he wasn't going to make the mistake he once made and forget to ask about her. So he had to think of safe subjects to talk about.

"I just have a little cold," Ran insisted softly, and he could imagine her embarrassment; her cheeks would be a tender pink.

"You sound like you were hit by a bus." he pointed out.

Ran said grumpily, "I do not! But Shin'ichi, something awful has happened!"

"The murders? Yeah, you mentioned that on your message. Don't worry, we're looking into it," he actually had nothing to do with these cases… he was beginning to realize that in his current form the only leverage he had to get at cases and to find out information about the men in black was through Kogoro.

But Kogoro was too busy taking tiny robbery cases, never minding the fact that Kogoro was working on the robbery cases before the murders started so couldn't exactly just set them aside or any leads and trails to apprehending the suspect committing the crime of robbery would go cold. Plus, there were already so many detectives working on the murder cases and now Heiji's dad would be, so undoubtedly the idiot wanna-be Heiji would also lend a hand.

But she didn't need to know that he had no hand in the case. He was still trying to figure out how to get involved in the murder cases without Kogoro, and not being able to do anything was killing him.

"Actually, it's something else." Ran then blurted her problem out. "I lost Conan! Dad said he went to the park, and when I went to get him I was going to scold him and everything, but the park was empty! Dad keeps telling me Conan's a resourceful kid and probably just is playing around someplace but I'm so sorry, I lost him, what if he's b-been m-murdered?" He could imagine her lower lip trembling nervously.

She really was sick, if she was ready to cry. Ran generally kick boxed to alleviate stress, not cry. "Alright then, I'll go find Conan." he promised Ran. "But you sound awful, so promise me you'll lie down. If you won't lie down and rest without Conan there, I know you won't with him there, and I won't bring him back." He crossed his fingers with the hope that his bluff worked.

"Okay, Shin'ichi, I promise." Ran said. They said their goodbyes and Conan skateboarded back. Once there, he found himself being bore down upon by an angry (and not resting) Ran.

"What were you doing? Where were you?"

"I was skateboarding!" Shin'ichi told her in the guise of Conan. 'So much for laying down,' he thought. 'She's probably been standing by the door this whole time.' It was time for plan B.

Ran took his skateboard and put it on the shelf high above the entertainment system. "No more of this for you! You know what I told you! You could have been killed!"

Shin'ichi immediately effected his plan 'B'. "Cousin Shin'ichi told me to call him and let him know if you're in bed! He said if you weren't, and if I'm the reason you're still up, he's gonna come pick me up and take me back to his place to stay! Can I go with him? He's so cool!" No harm in telling the truth. He really was cool.

Ran clenched her fists together. "Off to bed with you!"

'Plan B was a failure! Abort! Abort!' he thought. "But who'll take care of you?" he asked, employing his only true Ran proof secret weapon in this body: puppy dog eyes. She was a sucker for these eyes.

"Bed! Now!" Unless she was delusional with sickness… apparently…

Annoyed at all the noise, and now completely drunk, Kogoro smacked his fist down on Shin'ichi's head, causing his fake glasses to fall off his head and crack on the hard floor. "Ow!" he yelled, holding his head. "What's that for?" he demanded. Then he noticed that the lenses of his Conan-disguise glasses were broken.

"Dad, how many times have I told you not to hit Conan?" Ran demanded as she rounded on her father. "Now his glasses are broken!" Shin'ichi picked up the glasses, feeling as though he'd lost a best friend. "Whose gonna pay for them, huh, dad?" Ran continued.

xXx

'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, never gonna have kids, he came in through the kitchen, mama didn't leave the door open and it's good that mama went to pick up Souta because then at least she's not here to die too, I don't want to die, I'm gonna die!' Kagome's mind rambled as he advanced on her, using his right hand to flip his braided hair over his shoulder.

He stood over the couch before reaching down and fisting his hand in her hair. This time, her scream found her voice. "Aaah!" she cried, her hands raising to her assailant's wrist as he drug her upwards. Tears flew down her face like horses on the track. "Lord Sesshoumaru, please!" she cried, but through a haze of tears she saw his smile only widen.

"So now you are humble?" he hissed. A second later she was flying through the air. She crashed painfully screaming as portraits from the wall came crashing around her. 'This is all happening so fast,' she thought, her mind clouded by the pain of her jostled ankle, the pain of her backside where she'd crashed into the wall, the pain in her side where she'd crumpled to the floor.

"What did I do?" she asked him, crying as she attempted to use the wall as a support to stand. Glass bit into her good foot; from the shattered picture frames. He walked around the coffee table, his right hand surrounding her frail throat, crushing her voice.

Her eyes still could only look at his, despite that she couldn't see clearly. He leaned close to her, whispering into her pained consciousness. "You offended me," his smile was more terrifying than anything, and those cold eyes… she wanted to look away.

Her nails scrabbled at his wrist, but like before she barely found purchase because of the gloves protecting his wrist as much as his hand. She saw his amusement. "What will you do, miko?" he asked her, laughing. "Inuyasha is not here to save you now. If your family comes, I will kill them. Scream again, and I will simply be rid of you." She knew he meant it, and knew he would follow through with the threat.

He released her throat just enough that she could breath, but not enough so she could get away. He still had her locked up against the wall, and she nearly fainted from fear. "What do you want?" she asked in a petrified whisper.

He simply stared at her for a long moment before she felt like every ounce of blood inside her had turned to stone. 'I'm gonna die,' her mind chanted. 'Bye mama, bye Souta, bye Heiji… Goodbye, Inuyasha…'

"The shrine vault… I want it opened…" he said finally.

He released her and his eyes watched her as she inched away from him. She felt emboldened by how he hadn't killed her yet. 'I can't die yet… I haven't told Inuyasha I love him yet…' "You're the one who robbed us this week…" she whispered and received only that insane smile. "What could you possibly want from us?"

"I want the vault opened." He repeated. "Your mother will be back soon. Do you want her to die?" Kagome gulped and struggled to the couch. She watched him as she carefully maneuvered herself to pick up the crutches. Walking on her ankle was nearly impossible, since just holding it now hurt like someone was twisting a dagger into her flesh.

"It's in the wine cellar," she told him, letting him know that she wasn't planning anything stupid. She stood back up and positioned the crutches under her arms so she could use their aid to walk.

"Lead the way," he said, using his right hand to indicate that she was to precede him out of the room. She didn't want to be in front of him with her back turned—_Never show your back to your enemy!_ Inuyasha always yelled at her for that—but she knew he could kill her just as fast if he were in front of her.

She kept thinking, 'If I get out of this alive, I will kiss Inuyasha on sight next time I see him!' It was funny how her mind remained skeptical of this despite the conviction behind the thought. She led him to the staircase that led up to her room.

"Wine cellars are under ground," he told her.

She knelt down in front of the stairs. "I know that," she told him. Her fingers slipped around beneath the ledge of the first step for the latch and when she'd found it, she pulled it. With an annoying click, the first three steps bounced up an inch, and she grunted as she used all her might to lift the heavy secret door made out of heavy stairs. He made no move to assist her. 'Inuyasha would have… I know it…' she mourned. 'Oh I'm gonna die when I get the vault open…'

"Ah… an interesting revelation…" he murmured, his voice right next to her ear. 'Great, here's my death… I'm gonna die, I'm gonna be a corpse, and then the jewel will never be complete!' She wondered why he hadn't taken the jewel shards from around her neck. "Go down." He ordered. 'So I don't call for police… as if they'd be able to stop him!'

She used the railing to help her climb down, dragging the crutches down with her. It had been many years since she'd been down here, but grandpa came down once a week to dust things off. They weren't leaving a trail of dust, but her cut up foot was leaving a blood trail.

'Shouldn't I be able to purify him?' she thought abruptly. As she crutched her way forward, she tried to find the ball of pure energy inside her, but it was missing. Why? Was it because she was so hurt? She knew she healed faster than normal people because of that power, and knew that was the reason she rarely got sick, but surely she wasn't injured enough that she had no spare energy.

She pointed to a heavy steel door at the back of the wine cellar, barely visible behind a large wine bottle storage shelf. "That's the vault, but there's nothing in there," she told him.

"Open it," he ordered her. His cold eyes were staring into her back, burning a hole in her soul. She wanted to refuse. She was going to die anyway, why give him what he wanted? But she'd already shown him where it was; she'd been a coward this long, she might as well finish a coward.

He watched silently as she struggled to cross the room. She moved to the side of the wine bottle shelf and leaned against it, shoving its heavy mass with extreme difficulty. On the one hand, she figured she could push the shelf aside as her ankle and cut up foot screamed in protest to this new exercise, or she could _not_ do it and die sooner than later.

Still if there was a chance she might live, she wanted to take it and she didn't want to risk angering him enough that he would decide to kill her and then stick around to kill her family. Even if she did die, she would rather it be only her who died.

With a loud grating sound, the wine bottle shelf scraped across the floor of the wine cellar and revealed the heavy iron door. She crutched her way to the front of the wine shelf and picked the third bottle from the fourth row to the top off, using her teeth to pull the cork. She upended the bottle and the unordinary wide lip released a skeleton key from its glass prison. She put the bottle back and crutched back to the lock that secured the chains in front of the door.

A few seconds later she was pulling the chain free of the iron vices that held the chains securing the door, and without the chain there, the door fell open. Inside the vault were shelves of useless trinkets. Most of it were simply bobbles that grandpa had purchased in mass quantities to sell to the public, except there was only one of everything. The unsold goods were all boxed up in the attic; this was grandpa's private display of the things he'd already tried selling so he didn't get the same thing twice.

"Go in," Sesshoumaru ordered her, only following her once she was in. She flipped the light switch on. She watched him as he searched the shelves for whatever it was he was after but she knew he wouldn't find it unless it was a useless trinket. Somehow she doubted it was…

The room wasn't very big, just being about eight foot square, and the shelves only covered the walls, so Sesshoumaru seemed to realize really quickly that she'd been telling the truth when she said nothing important was in the vault.

"It's not here," he stated. "Where is it?" He glared at her and once more she found his eyes were nearly all she could see. She couldn't look away from Death.

Nervously she said, "I, I'm not sure what you're looking for… Four years ago, grandpa cleaned the vault out… I never did find out what he did with the things we kept here." He was angered by what she said. He reached for her with his right fist balled up and brought it crashing down on her face hard enough to send her back into the wall. She crumpled in a heap, but was conscious enough to see that the violent movement of his body had caused a prosthetic arm to fall to the floor. It was how he had a left hand now.

He picked up the arm and reattached it before saying to her as her consciousness slipped away, "Then you shall die for your grandfather's mistake!" She watched the beautiful but deadly inu-youkai slam shut the vault door and heard the chains being redone, leaving her locked in the vault to die.

* * *

**End.**


	5. Bad Miko

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe._

_**I am taking a lot of liberties with this story; thanks in advance for not freaking out!**

* * *

_

Chapter Five

"And it was so cool!" Souta said, filled to the brim with excitement. His class had been warned by the teacher that 'due to unfortunate circumstances, school would be closing' and had a letter expressing concern to the parents. He was still in junior grades, and the murder had taken place at Kagome's school, not Souta's. He didn't know yet. "Daikoju said that was the _longest game in the history of the whole school_!" Souta bounced merrily along side his mother. Despite being a thirteen year old boy, generally around the time they started getting grumpy, Souta was as happy as he'd ever been.

"That's wonderful, Souta!" Mama said as she looked at the daunting steps leading up to the shrine. In her arms was a grocery bag filled with the items she'd use to make supper. But the shrine felt cold. Mama didn't lay claim to having any spiritual powers, but her 'mama-meter' was going off. Something was wrong.

Still, she plastered a smile on her face and looked at her son. "Sweetie, maybe you should play tennis more often if you're that good!" Souta began hopping up the stairs, as if he were playing hopscotch. Who knows, maybe in his mind he was? "I'm sure Daikoju's brother Kain would like a sparring partner whose as good as he is, eh? You could practice with Inuyasha, hm?"

Souta grinned. "Yeah! If I can get the ball past big brother with his demon speed, then definitely Kain's no problem!" Mama began walking up the steps, shifting the bag to her hip. "Did you know, Kain's got a tournament coming up? Maybe Kagome can convince Inuyasha to go with me to watch! I know you won't let me go alone, but if Inuyasha's there, ain't nothing going to happen!"

"Well, we'll see." Mama told him. "But I want you to stay out of the living room for now. Kagome sprained her ankle and I want her to be able to rest peacefully, okay?" Souta looked at Mama to see if she was serious. She made sure her 'I mean it' smile was the one she wore.

"Okay, mama." They had reached the top of the stairs. She shifted the bag again so she could hold with one arm, but then Souta insisted, "Wait! I have my key! Let me, mama!" She watched her son reach to his waist where he kept his keys clipped to his belt so he wouldn't lose them. He really was a winner at losing things, and it had been mama who made him wear the keys on a chain that would retract.

He pulled them out and unlocked the front door, momentarily confused because the door was already unlocked. It was shut tight, however, and he didn't mention the fact to his mother since it was such a minor thing to him. He opened the door, a big grin on his face as he released the keys and the chain retracted again. He bowed in a mock respect fashion. "My Lady, after you!" he said.

Mama giggled at her son's behavior. She tipped her head in a slow bob, as if she would curtsy in the European fashion. "So kind, young prince!" she teased. He laughed and then slipped in first, making her laugh outright. "Silly!"

Souta tossed his shoes off by the door and went racing toward the kitchen. Mama saw him come to an abrupt halt, and wondered what could have stopped him. He was looking into the living room, through the open living room doors. Then, despite mama's orders, he went into the living room.

"Souta," Mama admonished him as she removed her shoes, moving forward to properly scold the boy. Looking into the living room, she saw destruction and gasped.

"Kagome! What has happened?" she asked of her daughter, who was grumbling as she knelt before the couch and scrubbed at a red spot on the white furniture.

Kagome looked up at her mother and said with a passion mama and Souta had both thought to be reserved for her enemies, "I spilled my drink, okay?"

Mama frowned and stepped closer to Souta. She held the bag out to him. "Sweetie, go put these away." She told him.

Souta thankfully didn't argue, but he was a good boy and mama knew this. He took the bag and left the living room. Mama stepped across the room to the area where all the photos had been forcibly removed from the wall. "Sweetie, spilled drinks don't break old pictures." It was reasonable, but mama never expected to get snapped at for it.

"I got angry! I took them and broke them! What do you want from me? I'm not some amazing do-gooder!" Kagome picked up her crutches and pulled herself to her feet. Her glare was so strange. Mama couldn't look away from Kagome, and her mouth went dry. Was this the true Kagome? But she was standing just in front of mama, her leg bandaged the same as before, dressed in her perfect white and green uniform.

"No, but you are respectful!" Mama said quietly. "It's one thing to raise your voice to your brother; it's an entirely different story to raise your voice to me, Kagome." Mama never let her voice leave its calm quiet. "What did the pictures do to you?"

Kagome scowled, making mama feel very uncomfortable. But still, Kagome was her daughter, and this strange new temper—though alien—needed to be dealt with before it caused harm. When mama received no answer from her scowling daughter, mama repeated herself, emphasizing the words. _"What did the pictures do to you?"_

"They exist. That is reason enough." Kagome began crutching her way out of the room. Mama stepped forward and grabbed her daughter's shoulder gently. Her hand was smacked away viciously, leaving red scratch marks on her flesh. "Don't touch me." The crutches fell to the floor; Kagome left them and limped away, walking down a recently washed hallway floor.

Mama watched her go nervously. Something clicked in her mind. That thing Kagome had read to her earlier…

_"Thy power shall on its own transform thy body,"_ this had to be what it meant. It mentioned something about a transformation. 'Oh, Kagome… my sweet darling, what has happened to you?'

Just a few seconds after Kagome had disappeared out of the room, mama heard a knocking sound on the front door. She made her way there and peered through the peep-hole. A sigh escaped her and she opened the door to admit her ex-husband. "Toshiro, thank you for coming by…"

"She didn't really jump down the well, did she?" Toshiro, Kagome and Souta's father, asked nervously. Mama shook her head, lying. His eyes scanned the place, but he stood just in the doorway. Souta came barreling down the hall and nearly tackled his father the instant he heard Toshiro's voice.

"Dad! You'll never guess what!" Souta said excitedly, but he didn't give Toshiro a chance to respond before saying excitedly, "I played against Kain Sornormo, my friend's brother, in tennis today! He won, but he said I played a good game! And Daikoju said that it was _the longest game in the history of the school!"_

Souta really was proud of that.

Toshiro Hattori scratched the back of his neck in a self conscious manner as he listened to his son. "I'm sure you did really well," Toshiro agreed. "Hey, why don't you go get me something to drink? I'd like to talk to Ai for a minute."

Souta scuffed his toe on the floor, looking much like he wanted to stay, but an encouraging look from mama sent him on his way. "Perhaps you could put on some tea, sweetie?" He agreed that he would.

Once he had rounded the corner at the end of the hall, Toshiro again looked around, scratching his curly black haired head. "Kagome?" he inquired.

Mama sighed and waved for him to take his shoes off. Toshiro did, and mama led the way through the shrine he knew so well. She took him to the living room and showed him the destruction. "I just went to get Souta from school. She was happy when I left, and she even asked me to stop for peanut butter. She loves to eat peanut butter with her cheese crackers… But…"

Toshiro's eyes took in the broken photos and the glass all over the floor. He walked over, careful not to step on any glass, and peered down at red spots marring the edges of the glass shards. "I saw that too and thought she might have hurt herself trying to clean it up, but look," mama pointed to the large red stain on the white couch, and to the spilled tomato juice on the floor and the cup just slightly under the edge of the couch.

Toshiro returned to stand by his ex-wife and look at the couch. "She must have spilled it on herself."

"What do you mean?" mama asked.

He indicated the way the liquid had splattered. "Someone was here at the time of the spill…"

She found means to laugh at that. "Once a detective, always one, right?" Her laughter was only reinforced when he blushed. "Kagome twisted her ankle. It's not unlikely to assume she spilled it as she was trying to lower herself onto the couch." But her mind was whirring. Kagome's outfit had been perfectly clean. Had something more occurred? What if that thief had come back, in the middle of the day, and Kagome confronted him?

Still, she wouldn't voice her concerns to Toshiro. He'd only want to open an investigation, and especially during a time of crisis when the city was under attack by a mysterious thief and at the same time a killer, the shrines and the temples needed to be seen as safe places to be, not as part of a victimized mass.

"How'd she twist her ankle?" Toshiro asked instantly.

"Please, Toshiro, don't interrogate me…" mama found herself begging, and he immediately softened his tone.

"I don't mean to…"

"I know, it's your habit," she rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead. She was doing a whole lot of lying and committing a lot of truth evasion; but wasn't that the purpose of being a shrine owner? To pretend that everything was right in the world, even when the bills didn't add up? Maybe that was her own screwed up interpretation of it all, but if the shoe fits, right?

"Will you please tell me how Kagome twisted her ankle?" Toshiro asked.

"Kagome went to school this morning and shortly after she left, her friend stopped by to see her. I told him she was at school, and he left. She got home from school with her friend, I watched through that window there," she pointed to the living room window that showed out onto the courtyard, "just after you called me to tell me to turn on the television. Her friend left and that was when she was limping." Mama didn't think he'd ask anything more.

"Who's this _friend_?" Toshiro asked. "You say it's a boy?"

"Yes, Inuyasha is a boy," mama nodded, "but he's just Kagome's friend. Just like you and I are only friends."

"Why wasn't he in school at this time?" Toshiro's voice nearly took on his 'interrogation tone' again, so he had to watch himself.

Mama's reply was, "I don't think… he goes to school…" It was then that mama sighed and looked mournfully at the room. "But I just, I can't understand it. She was calm when I left her, and now she's seething up in her room." Mama rubbed the scratches on her wrist; Toshiro did not fail to notice those.

"Maybe it's being cooped up all the time that's got her upset?" Toshiro suggested. "She's had a few nasty colds lately, so maybe a change of scenery would do her some good? What'd'ya say, Ai? I could have Kagome come stay with me for a couple days and she can help us unpack."

Mama thought about this for a few minutes, staring out the window at the courtyard. On the one hand, she knew Kagome had the jewel to complete and she wouldn't hinder that. Kagome was safe with Inuyasha; sure she came back with some cuts and bruises but Inuyasha was always there to protect her. On the other hand, she weighed the fact that she believed it was quite possible Kagome was lying and had a dangerous encounter that left her very angry, especially knowing she could not get through the well.

With her twisted ankle, Kagome may not be able to defend herself at all, and if Kagome (as sad as it made mama to even think such) weren't at the shrine, the likelihood of danger coming seemed to drop ninety percent since she'd take the jewel shards with her. Then all mama had to do was worry about the recurring thief and hope he had no malicious intent. If it was the man in black who was responsible for so many other robberies in the city, then that meant that he wasn't violent as so many had already seen him even if the man still got away and still could not be caught.

"Well, alright, Toshiro… Perhaps if the schools reopen, you could enroll her in one near you? She was very upset to be expelled, and then a murder at her school… it's overwhelming for her, and math aside, school is relaxing and she enjoys it."

Souta stopped their conversation by entering the room. "Dad, the tea's done! Now can I tell you about my tennis match?"

xXx

Inuyasha's precarious perch on a tree branch was driving his companions into levels of insanity as with every shift he made they winced as if he were about to fall. But he no longer seemed to notice them and simply sat there staring up at the dark midnight sky as if the starlit void could provide him with answers that no other could.

He was brooding for reasons they didn't know. In his mind, he knew he was happy for Kagome. She would know her father, even if he never had. He'd always wondered about her dad. Whenever he was in Kagome's time, her father was never around. It was always just her grandfather, her mother, and her brother. He just never had the guts to ask about him.

Come to think of it, Inuyasha never really did much asking of Kagome at all. He tried to stay aloof, to keep his distance from her. In the beginning, it was because Inuyasha didn't trust her. He'd known from the start that there was no way she had a kind and trusting nature. He'd been the first to witness that when she and Kaede put the 'dog collar' around his neck.

But after a while, after she managed to wheedle her way under his skin, he began to see what everyone else saw in her. She was a loyal friend. She'd do anything to protect those she loved. She'd taken an arrow for Inuyasha when he was bound and unable to protect himself, knowing that there was the chance that by doing what she did she could die.

She did it anyway.

He still had a bad feeling about letting her stay in her time. He'd been having a lot of bad feelings, and it really wasn't like she said and none of it came true. Surely _someone_ must have had some bad luck…

At first when she asked to stay, he had every intention to say no and drag her straight to the well. But then a thought of 'What if it were me?' came to his mind. What if by some strange chance of fate, he had the opportunity to see his father and actually visit with and get to know his father… what if someone had denied him that?

So he gave her his okay and let her go. She should be free to be with her family, he decided. He had been pushing her too much, and it was his fault she couldn't go to her teaching thing. He was smart enough to figure that out. It was making him wonder if maybe he should just let her stay in the future where she belonged.

But the very thought made his insides twist painfully. She _belonged_ in the future. But… his heart belonged to her now. He knew he promised to go to hell with Kikyou, but his heart was Kagome's. How could he choose between duty… and the person who had brought him back to life?

It had been too long, he decided. As if he'd let her stay in her time! She couldn't even defend herself properly, and beside that, if he let her stay in her time the jewel would never be complete because she had pieces of it. He looked down at his companions. They were sleeping peacefully; with Kagome gone, Shippou used Sango as a substitute pillow.

Inuyasha carefully hopped out of the tree. Shippou's ears were becoming more sensitive lately, and strange though it was, Inuyasha didn't want to wake the brat up. He tossed a couple more small logs on the fire and waited for them to start burning before sneaking out of camp. Kaede had suggested sleeping in the forest because traveling human warriors were holing up in the village for the night.

The suggestion had actually been directed at Inuyasha and Shippou, but Miroku and Sango had also come. They claimed it was because there would be very little room in the spacey village, but Inuyasha wasn't stupid. They were trying to keep him from thinking bad thoughts, those thoughts incorporating how he and Shippou were actually hated because of their youkai blood.

His trek to the well was a short one. His feeling of foreboding came back full-bore the instant his foot met with the lip of the well. Something incredibly bad was going to happen, like it or not. He could only picture it being something that would happen to Kagome since she was quite easily the group's weakest link, Shippou excluded from the count. She was getting better now that Kaede was giving her frequent formal training in the arts of miko and Inuyasha was teaching her some self defense.

He jumped into the well determined to know what trouble she was getting herself into _this_ time, only it didn't work. His descent through the well wasn't slowed as usual and there were no flashing pretty magic lights. He landed with a heavy thud on the bottom. It hurt almost as much as one of Kagome's 'sit' commands.

"What the hell?" he growled. He jumped up and out, and then right back in again, thinking he did something wrong. Thump. Still not working. Again he jumped up and out, though this time he went to take a running start and dove in. All that idea did was make him crash into the side of the well before falling painfully to the bottom.

"I broke it?" he couldn't believe it. "Damn, Kagome's supposed to be the one who breaks things on us!" He jumped out of the well again and used his sleeve to wipe his face free of dirt.

He half-walked, half-stomped his way back to camp making noise that would wake the dead. How could he have broken it?

However, the short walk back to the ancient Goshinboku did not prove to be enough time for him to brood over the broken well. A look of betrayal crossed his features as he saw what he considered a massacre. Miroku and Sango, still in their sleeping clothes… They were up and prepared for battle, but neither of them moved. Arrows pierced them just as an arrow had pinned him and stolen his life away. They looked at peace, like they were merely sleeping. Kirara was no where in sight, but there was an arrow in the ground a few feet from where she'd been curled up by the fire, giving Inuyasha a sinking feeling.

But they weren't. They were sealed away, as good as dead. Never mind that they were standing upright and not pinned to trees, _they were dead._ This was why he didn't let people in! He always lost them.

"Inuyasha!" Shippou called.

He ran forward and looked up at the Goshinboku's branches. His fury was mounting and Tetsusaiga was in his hand before he registered drawing it. Shippou jumped out of the tree and clung to Inuyasha, shaking terribly.

"They're everywhere!" Shippou cried, just as Inuyasha heard movement behind him. He turned to look just as he heard a 'twang' sound. He saw his attackers just as the arrow caught him and pinned him. The one in the middle-left had shot the arrow that would kill him in a minute. There were six of them, all garbed as miko.

"S-Shippou…" he breathed, fighting the sealing spell. Shippou was crying out incoherent gibberish, shaking Inuyasha's arm even as he looked at the six women in fear. "Shippou… run…" Inuyasha told the brat. _"Take Tetsusaiga and run! It'll protect you… at least a little while…"_

Shippou screamed and fell away from Inuyasha. He didn't take the sword, although Inuyasha was certain the brat would be able to hold onto it. An arrow embedded itself in Inuyasha where Shippou had been hanging onto him, and Inuyasha couldn't fight that spell and the first as well.

Shippou raced away from the miko, away from the camp that was _supposed_ to be safe. He was alive only because he woke hearing Inuyasha put the logs on the fire. He'd watched Inuyasha walk off toward the well and since he couldn't get back to sleep he climbed the tree to lay a prank on Inuyasha's usual spot. While he was up there, their attackers had come.

It wasn't fair. Inuyasha was supposed to be invincible. Shippou kept running. He couldn't hide; powerful miko could detect a youkai. All he could do is run. Kirara… purified to ashes, he couldn't believe it was true! Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha… all of them dead…

xXx

Kaede had heard it from travelers several weeks after the incident occurred. Very few people traveled through Inuyasha forest because it was infested with demons, but apparently a group of women on their journey to become miko had joined forces and scoured the forest.

Now the forest was growing in a strange fashion as if angered by something. Travel was made difficult because it was as if the very trees moved to keep themselves hidden and to trap the unsuspecting victims. Some travelers claimed their party would fall asleep on the roadside, but they would wake up in a clearing surrounded in foliage. They would then have to hack their way out of the forest.

Kaede was getting old now. She'd been old before, some of the time having to use her bow as a crutch to walk with, but now she needed to focus more on her apprentice, and stop thinking about the rumors of _three frozen people in the forest. _No one could put a name to these people, they only said they were like life-like statues.

Not wanting to know if her old heart could take the truth she already suspected, Kaede tried to forget the descriptions she'd been given and quench the urge to go investigate. _Long, unruly silver hair, dog ears, and red clothes… there's a rusted, battered old sword lying at his feet…_ That sounded a lot like a young man Kaede had accidentally come to view as a grandson.

_Long black hair, a white yukata, and brown eyes… she's holding a sword as if about to strike something…_ That sounded a lot like Sango, who was the only woman Kaede had ever known to wield a sword for a reason other than to attract gullible men who would 'teach them'.

_Short black hair, blue-gray eyes… that one's a monk… he looks like he's in the middle of a spell…_ Miroku… They were all like the children Kaede never had…

Rin, Kaede's apprentice, was a nice young girl. She'd wandered into the village on her own right around the time the rumors started, saying her master told her to speak to the miko who cared for the village. She had a letter written by Rin's 'master' explaining that the child needed to be trained properly to use her power. There was money for Rin's upkeep for the first year so she could concentrate on her studies and after that Rin would work for her food and shelter.

It was not a signed letter.

However, Kaede had tested Rin's aptitude for power and she did have the dormant strength required to be a miko. Still, Rin never seemed to get used to the village. She was nervous all the time, not settling down as the years began to pass by. She was more comfortable away from the village, gathering herbs, and was the only one who did not lay claim to being lost in the forest.

"I just walk where I want to go," Rin said once when Kaede asked her about it.

The years continued to pass, and the rumors became wilder. Rin was an attentive student, but Kaede knew the girl was worried about what would happen when Kaede passed on. And Kaede sometimes caught the girl looking toward the west with a longing look on her face.

Kaede got to watch Rin grow into a fine young woman whose potential continued to grow daily. It was for this she was grateful. But she had lived a long, full life. But her life was coming to an end. She could feel her powers weakening with each sunset. Once those powers were gone, she would become a normal human and simply die of old age. However, before then, she knew she had to go see for herself if the rumors and her suspicions were true.

As she got up and left her hovel, she found Rin was standing outside. The young woman stared off into the west. For the first time since Rin had wandered into the village, she spoke of her master. Other than he had told Rin to learn to control her power, Kaede knew nothing of the man.

"Lord Sesshoumaru promised he'd come for me by now." Rin said. "He always keeps his promises."

Kaede looked at Rin with a surprised glance. Rin was a very common name, but for a man to name his child Sesshoumaru, he would be mad. That left only Sesshoumaru the Aristocratic Assassin to be her master, but he was a youkai and his dislike of humans was well known. He hadn't realized this to be that child that followed Inuyasha's brother.

Still, Kaede wasn't going to ruin her apprentice's hopes. If a youkai assassin could be honorable, then the promise would be kept. If no honor could be found in such a beast, then Rin would realize it on her own.

"Keep looking to the sky, my child," Kaede told Rin.

"He said, 'When you have completed your training, you may do as you like.' Just like when he first truly acknowledged that I could follow him, he said, 'Do as you like.' So he'll come! I know he will."

Kaede chuckled. "It sounds like he expects you to find him. But, your training is not yet complete my child. Ye must pass the Blood Rite."

Rin bit her lip. "But… you said I have learned all you could teach me."

"The Blood Rite is not something that can be taught… more, it must be felt. You will know when it is over… Get some rest, child." Kaede watched as Rin trudged into the hovel and then went to find out if the rumors were true. Of course, traveling in the forest was dangerous at night if one did not know where to go, but Kaede knew where she was most likely to find what she was searching for.

* * *

**End.**


	6. Bad Youkai

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Six

As a child Kaede could remember trips through the forest to get to Onigumo's cave. Back then, being as young as she was she always found the forest to be a frightening place. The rumors and stories of the field workers had always stood out in her mind back then. The things they claimed to have seen at the edge of the forest made travel through it to Onigumo's cave amongst the most terrifying she'd ever felt.

Now travel through the forest was hardly worth recognizing as fearful, because she had stood up to many of the most frightening beasts in her long life. She was sixty three this year, which was far older than her village's average of fifty seven. She was grateful to have lived and seen as much as she had done.

It saddened her to know that her apprentice had no intention of staying in the village. After so many years without seeing Kagome and the others, she had come to recognize that something was terribly amiss, especially since reports of Naraku's evil deeds still filtered through on the backs of merchant carts.

But Kaede knew the village would live on regardless of whether or not Rin left to find her master (or he came to get her). Miko didn't generally stay in one place; Kikyou had wandered for years with Kaede as her apprentice, until they came across Onigumo's burnt and rotting corpse. Kikyou took pity on the thief and settled in a village nearby to take care of the man until he was well again.

Shortly after that was when the Demon Exterminator clan came with the Shikon no Tama and begged Kikyou to take it from them and protect it. After that, Kikyou decided to stay and the villagers were happy to have her there to protect and bless the village.

Kaede stayed in the village after Kikyou's death because she could not bear to leave her sister's gravesite. She hoped to be buried beside her sister.

After much walking, Kaede reached the place she thought she might find the things travelers were calling 'Living Statues' and indeed they were there. She felt weak-kneed at first. It was them, and she had known it all along. The first she approached was the boy in red, pinned to the Goshinboku much like he'd been pinned before with only one difference. He was sealed with two arrows this time.

She reached up and cupped his face with the hand not gripping her walking stick. "Inuyasha…" she sighed. She needed to undo the spells. She reached forward and grabbed one of the arrows.

Instantly she felt her mistake. The magic latched onto her power and began draining her. Even though the arrow and seal disappeared, she still felt the effects of a drain. But with the removal of that arrow, she knew at least there was hope for the world. Inuyasha needed to defeat Naraku.

"Hgn…" Inuyasha said, his amber colored eyes opening to look blearily at Kaede. She was leaning on her walking stick more than she should. The drain was taking away her power and when that power was gone she knew she would die. It was the way of the miko.

He looked around trying to place where he was. Then he remembered he'd been attacked by a group of miko and his fury settled in. "Old hag?" he questioned, and he received a stern look in reply. "Where's Kagome?" he asked, looking around. His eyes showed deep pain and betrayal as they fell upon Sango and Miroku's forms. "Did Shippou get away?"

"I know not what happened to ye," Kaede admitted. "Ye have been missing from my life for eight years." She reached out and took hold of the second arrow, and when she did the drain became so strong it felt like her power was being wrenched out of her. Still, she freed him from the spell and within a moment of doing so, her old body collapsed. She was now just an ordinary human. She was surprised that Inuyasha caught her.

"Old hag, what's your problem?" he demanded roughly, but she knew that was his way of showing concern. He set her carefully on the ground and stared at her with those beautiful eyes filled with worry.

"I am an old woman," Kaede explained. "It is my time."

Inuyasha looked up at the soft whisper of cloth rubbing against itself. A miko, he remembered the face as the one who sealed him, entered the clearing. Her footsteps made no sound in the underbrush and that confused him. Even demons could not completely mask the sound of their feet.  
"Old woman, why do you unseal this hanyou?" the miko asked. Her eyes stared at Inuyasha. She held a strung bow in her hands and had a quiver full of arrows on her back. The red and white outfit that all miko wore as traditional garb was something he felt unworthy on her.

No real miko would go about slinging sealing arrows at youkai, hanyou, and humans without a reason.

"Because he deserves better. He is a good boy." Kaede said.

As if the words were cue to fire, the miko reached behind her and grabbed an arrow. Inuyasha grabbed Kaede before the miko could shoot at either of them and raced off in the direction he knew Kaede's village to be. He could feel the miko following them as if aware where they were going.

Then she was in front of them; they had arrived in the clearing of the Goshinboku once more. Kaede chuckled bitterly. "So it is true… the forest is moving."

"What the hell!" Inuyasha yelled, perplexed. He should be in the village by now. An arrow was knocked to the miko's bow. She raised it to aim and fired. Knowing that it was coming, Inuyasha was able to dodge it. "I don't even know you!"

"And neither do I know you." the miko said quietly before loosing another arrow. She shot another in his path, and that arrow hit him. Kaede felt herself being released as Inuyasha's arms were taken in by the sealing spell. She felt morose about dying for nothing.

His eyes closed and he became still, lying on the ground just a few feet from where she landed. The miko asked, "Old woman, my spell has killed him. Why would you protect him?"

Kaede sighed wearily, "I am old and have no children of my own. That boy was as good a grandson as I could ask for."

"Then if you have a grandson with youkai blood, you must be youkai. There is no place in this world for youkai." The twang of a bow, and the painful piercing of flesh. Kaede couldn't stop it, even if she wanted to. But she was old… she had lived her life.

She watched the miko's feet retreat into the forest before her final breath escaped her. She was not sealed like the others; an arrow pierced her lungs.

xXx

It took all his strength to get up off the dirt. He couldn't smell or see anything. His eyes were blind even if he opened them. The strength of the sealing spell had increased since the last time—according to Kaede, eight years ago—but he fought it for all he was worth. He needed Kagome's help. He could feel the arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

He had heard Kaede and the strange miko's exchange of words. He also heard the whistle of the arrow, and Kaede's cry as it hit her. He hoped Kaede wouldn't die, but then he heard her breathing stop. She was dead, and that brought tears to his eyes. He knew when the miko had left, because it became easier to fight the spell.

Holding his hands out in front of him, he walked forward, hoping by some odd chance, he might be able to make it to the well. He hoped that the well would work again. Maybe it was a momentary glitch. Then again, maybe he really did break it.

His hands came into contact with the sturdy rough bark of a tree and he had to lean on it for a moment. He could not sense an aura on the miko. That was as confusing as her not making a sound as she walked. 'I have to get to the well,' he thought, knowing it was fully possible he was going the entirely wrong direction. Most of his concentration was on fighting against the seal.

He didn't know how long he had been walking, but his feet were in pain from all the times he'd stumbled. He leaned against a tree, exhausted and wanting sleep. He gripped the tree tight and smashed his head against it. The shock and pain woke him up. He could feel the blood dripping down his face. 'I can't let myself sleep!' he yelled.

Inuyasha continued forward. If he fell asleep the spell would take effect and he would never wake again. A long time of stumbling later, he leaned against another tree and fell to his knees, resting his forehead against the cloth of the tree. 'Cloth?' he thought. 'Well, shit.' He had no energy to move. 'Better to die this way than to a damn seal,' he mused. He couldn't tell who it was.

xXx

Sesshoumaru stared at his brother in surprise. An arrow stuck out of Inuyasha and crackled with holy energy. Sesshoumaru had merely been traveling to the village to check on Rin and see if she had completed her training. He didn't expect her to take this long; humans lived such short lives, they should have perfected a way to make training take far less than the time it had been.

Eight years… it had been eight years since the bubbly girl was left at that village. It had been longer than that since Sesshoumaru had seen Inuyasha. He wasn't bothered by not seeing Inuyasha, but he had thought of their next meeting. The way they met was far from his daydreams.

"Inuyasha," he drawled and watched the younger boy stiffen. He tilted his head up and Sesshoumaru took notice that his eyes were dull, as if he couldn't see.

"Well, at least ya ain't that wolf-breath." He joked and smiled. He struggled to his feet, backing up. Sesshoumaru noticed Tetsusaiga was not in its sheath. "Let's get this over with."

"You can barely stand. You would fight me in such a state?" Sesshoumaru inquired curiously. He hadn't come to fight, and it would be beneath him to fight Inuyasha when he wasn't at his best. Still, if a fight was what Inuyasha wanted, he'd give it.

"Ain't that why you're here?" Inuyasha heard Sesshoumaru moving. Sesshoumaru walked to the boy.

"No." he said simply. "Can you see?"

Inuyasha's legs failed him. Again he fell to his knees. "No… not see… not smell… I can't sense anythin'… Jus' I can hear an' feel… Th' miko all are crazy…"

Sesshoumaru frowned. He'd assumed his idiot half-brother had done something to upset a miko, but for Inuyasha to lay claim to all miko being crazy it seemed a far stretch. "What do you mean?" He asked on the off chance that Inuyasha were right.

"How about a trade? You… do somethin' for me, an' I'll tell you what I know…" Sesshoumaru should have guessed. The two of them did nothing for the other for free unless it was meant to harm the other.

"Hm…" Sesshoumaru thought about it. Depending on what it was, it may be a price to pay for knowing something about miko. After all, Sesshoumaru was on his way to check on his little miko. "What is it you would need of this Sesshoumaru?"

"I jus' gotta get somewhere… The Bone-Eater's Well…" Sesshoumaru grabbed his brother by the arm rather roughly. He jumped into the air, past the tree tops, and flew toward the well. He set the boy down roughly next to it. He didn't complain once, and instead reached out for the wood of the well.

"What do you know?" Sesshoumaru asked the boy.

"Eight years ago, a group of women… all of them miko… they sealed my friends, while they were just trying to sleep. They killed Sango's neko-youkai friend. They sealed me and tried to seal Shippou, the kitsune-youkai. They probably tracked him down. Then Kaede unsealed me, and because she associated herself with me, the miko decided she wasn't worth keeping alive even though Kaede's a miko too. The miko said, 'There's no place in this world for youkai' and then killed Kaede." He leaned against the well, pulling himself onto the lip.

"And this is important information how?" Sesshoumaru scoffed.

"Because, idiot," Inuyasha felt blood surge into his mouth as the battle against the spell raged further. "The miko are banning together. There were six of 'em then. Who knows how many more now. They're gonna get rid of all the youkai, an' get rid of anyone who likes us. They're probably recruiting th' miko young an' brainwashin' 'em."

Sesshoumaru turned his back to his brother and started walking away. He was worried about Rin. He would never show it, but he was. Rin had showed the signs of the holy powers that miko eight years ago. The first time he saw it he recognized it for what it was and went searching for a miko to train her.

Holy powers weren't something to take lightly. He wanted to make sure she knew how to control those powers so she didn't accidentally purify Jaken or something like that. Inuyasha said he saw six of them eight years ago. Eight years ago Sesshoumaru left Rin on the outskirts of a human village with a miko.

"What will you do now?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning his attention back to his half-brother. His eyes widened. 'Gone… just a lingering scent…' He felt cheated that a miko had been his brother's end… But in the end, though his brother had done some stupid things, he thought it proper to admit his brother had been a worthy member of the family.

xXx

_Rin gulped as she approached the headman's hovel with a basket filled with healing salve on her back. She really didn't like humans. They were scary. She wanted nothing more than to run, especially since it had been three days since her mentor Kaede had gone missing. _

_No one was sure where Kaede had gone. Search parties went looking for Kaede, but no one could find her. It was as though the forest were trying to hide Kaede. Now, not only did Rin worry over whether or not Lord Sesshoumaru would remember his promise to her but she worried over the safety of Kaede. Kaede was old, and unwell. She'd been coughing blood for the past six months. _

_"Lady Rin!" called one of the village's children. She was just a little girl, about four years old. She came up to Rin, squeezing a crudely made doll in her arms. Rin had made it for the child in her free time four years before as a birth present. Rin had also been the one who had to direct the birthing. She was the first to hold the little girl. _

_"Taniko!" Rin smiled. _

_"You look real pretty dressed like a miko!" the child said happily. _

_"I thank you, Taniko, but when I return to my master, I will ask him for an orange kimono first thing. An orange kimono with blue flowers!" _

_The child giggled. "_ _Orange__ and blue look silly together, Lady Rin. You look prettier in white and red, with your hair pulled back just like it is now." _

_Rin's smile faded then as the young child screamed and fell. An arrow was in the child's back. Taniko's brown eyes were dull—dead. The image of fire burned in Rin's eyes. Rin looked around; the village was ablaze and bandits were razing through, slicing down anyone in the way. _

_Lord Sesshoumaru wasn't there to protect her; she had to do something. She saw the bandit bearing down on her in her vision. He barred blackened teeth at her and raised his sword. His horse's hooves beat the ground like a drum. She hefted the basket in one arm and grabbed Taniko and ducked under that slice. _

_She let her feet carry her forward. Even the dead didn't deserve to be trampled so she carried Taniko with. The healing salve could not be scrapped—they would need it later undoubtedly. If anyone was left alive, they'd need it. _

_She ducked into her mentor's hovel and set the basket and Taniko on the floor. A few seconds was all she spared to string her bow and throw a full quiver over her shoulder. Then she was outside again. Somehow in those few seconds, the bandits had killed many and gathered the rest in the village center. _

_The villagers looked to her. "Lady Rin! Help us!" they called. Why did she have to involve herself? She owed them nothing. She had already done so much for the village, but they gave her nothing in return. She and Kaede had to work in the fields for the food they ate. They had to protect the village. They had to sew their own clothes. They had to mend their own shoes. They made the salves and vile concoctions that healed the villagers of sickness and wounds. _

_Truly, a miko was everything at once. _

Rin woke up, gasping for breath. She looked around the darkness of her mentor's hovel and scrambled to stir up the fire so she had light to see with. "Lady Rin, please…" whispered a voice, quiet and worried. It was Taniko's mother, Gaila. "Don't move…"

Rin blinked. She looked beside her, and by the light filtering through the window of the hovel as her eyes adjusted, she could see Gaila and Taniko huddling close by. Sensing the urgency for secrecy in Gaila's quiet voice, she asked, "Why?" in a soft tone.

Taniko sniffled. "A scary demon came to the village. He's looking for you."

Rin scrambled to her feet and hurried to dress in the miko robes, and to tie her hair back so it wouldn't be in her eyes if the wind was strong. Gaila and Taniko insisted that the villagers would protect her. That wasn't Rin's problem. The villagers didn't understand that Rin was sure who that demon was.

But as she grabbed her bow and her arrows, she wondered why he couldn't find her. 'He should smell me, or sense me…' she thought. 'Lord Sesshoumaru always has been able to.' But still, she pulled herself together and left the hovel.

She spread her consciousness out, letting it encompass the village, searching for the one who wanted her. He was at the edge of the forest now; she raced through the village for him. He was surrounded by villagers wielding pitchforks and farming tools. They were lucky they weren't dead.

But when she managed to squeeze herself through to see him, she could only gape. There was her master; but he was leaning on a tree, barely able to focus his attention. Blood ran down his face and his armor was destroyed. The pelt over his shoulder was covered in red blood that glittered in the light from the torches the villagers held.

"Demon, kill the demon! Demon, kill the demon!" the villagers chanted.

A few feet from the once-majestic youkai was a woman in miko garb. She held her bow, arrow knocked, aimed at Sesshoumaru. Rin immediately knocked an arrow of her own and aimed it at the rogue miko. Seeing this, the villagers' chanting died as their unexplained prejudice toward an unknown youkai turned into confusion at the apprentice miko's sudden change.

"Lower your weapon," Rin said in a low voice, but everyone heard her. The miko's eyes turned to her, but she did not lower her weapon. "I said, lower your weapon!" Rin never let her voice leave that quiet tone. It was something she learned from watching Sesshoumaru.

"Lady Rin, this miko is protecting you!" said one villager. "That youkai is undoubtedly dangerous and means you harm!"

"I will not repeat myself." Rin said. She pulled the string back; if the miko dodged it, it would hit a villager. If it hit her, the arrow would fly; but there was a chance the arrow would fly crooked.

The miko smiled. "What is this youkai to you? Why would you protect a youkai?"

Rin inched herself closer to Sesshoumaru. A glance at him showed arrows littering his chest; how he was still alive was a mystery to Rin. The arrows glittered with holy energy. She would have to remove those, soon. They were likely sealing spells.

"I protect him because he saved my life; I owe him mine." Rin said.

The miko barked out laughter. "Then I could leave tonight, let you resurrect him, and return. Your debt to him would be repaid. At that time, you would not need to interfere."

Rin felt something cold inside her as her master fell to his knees. Only one man had ever forced her master to his knees, and that was his half-brother. This woman would pay for what she had done. It was like a snake slithering through her blood. "Unfortunately for you, I would involve myself even if my debt were repaid."

"Pray tell," the miko asked, "what reason would you have to stop the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama from her quest?"

'The Guardian of the Shikon no Tama?' Rin thought, panicking. She knew of her from Kaede; her name was Kagome and she traveled with Sesshoumaru's half-brother Inuyasha. Rin had seen her a few times, but not enough to be memorable. "You are Lady Kagome?" Rin asked.

"Hm," was the response from the woman. "What reason would you have to stop me?"

Rin smiled. "You could say I look to him as a father. As long as I am alive, you will not lay that finishing blow."

The woman's bow swiveled to point at Rin then. "If you have a youkai father, then you are a youkai. There is no place in this world for youkai. It is not too late to join us, girl."

'This is not Lady Kagome,' Rin's smile widened at that thought. She might not remember the real Kagome's features, but she did remember that Kagome was a kind woman, that she seemed to fall in love with a hanyou, that she would never say there was no place in the world for something.

She shook her head and dropped her bow. "If there is no place in this world for Lord Sesshoumaru, then there is no place in this world for me. I may be human in body, miko in spirit… but my heart and mind are different." She stood still, putting her hands together as though to chant.

The twang of the bow string… Rin cried out in pain as the arrow pierced her flesh, but felt the sealing power quickly spreading through her. She could hear the cries of the villagers; those were angry cries. Why? What reason would humans have to get upset over her death? Didn't they know she hated humans for their eager potential to destroy what they created?

**End.**


	7. Bad Seal

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

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_

Chapter Seven

He could hear that the well had done as he begged it to do. He could hear the change. He could hear the things Kagome called cars making their unfriendly noises in the distance. But he knew he was also too tired to just stay. The spell was still trying to catch him.

He could remember scoffing at Kagome for having to climb using the ladder; now he needed to use that ladder. He was grateful for it being there, or he would not have been able to get out of the well.

xXx

"Owie…" Kagome moaned and she woke up in the vault (according to her watch) eight hours after the time she stupidly jumped into the well and stupidly broke her ankle. Well, it was probably broken now after being beaten up by Sesshoumaru.

Speaking of being beaten up… "Ow… ow, owie, ow!" Kagome moaned. Her head had hit a shelf and now was matted with dried blood. At least she hadn't bled to death. Her feet hurt, one from cuts on the bottom, the other from being (stupidly) broken.

Still, after being unconscious for eight hours (as her watch told her) she figured someone would be curious of her absence. She crawled her way to the door and began banging her fists on the heavy iron. Hopefully her family was still alive… "Help!" she called. Oh boy, she had a massive headache…

xXx

Inuyasha fell against the front door of the shrine. It was locked, and that confused him. Kagome's mom never locked the door before. He banged against the front door. "Kagome!" he called, wincing as his voice was pathetic to even his own ears. "Kagome's mom! Hey, Souta!" 'Someone, anyone, open the door… I can't see to pick the lock!'

The door opened and he heard Kagome's mom gasp. Yeah, he was sure he was a mess. His face was still bleeding from where he smashed his head on the tree. "Inuyasha! What happened?"

He felt a hand on his arm. He allowed Kagome's mom to pull him into the house, though honestly he couldn't say where he was being taken even if he wanted to. He didn't know. But he trusted Kagome's mom and hoped that trust wasn't misplaced.

"Where's Kagome? I need her to remove the seal on the arrow." he said.

"Here, dear. Sit on the couch. I'll see about getting Kagome. She's gone to stay with her dad, but if I explain the," Inuyasha stopped focusing on Kagome's mother and listened. Was that a scream? 'Help!' it was saying… who was there?

He knew he must probably look really silly, but he got down on his hands and knees, listening with his ear close to the floor. It was coming from beneath him. "Kagome?" he called, and Kagome's mom stopped talking. He crawled around, trying to locate what direction was closest to the shouting.

He didn't know it, but he ended up crawling out of the living room and down the hall. His head hit the bottom stair. "It's here! Someone's under this lump thing." He felt the lump, trying to determine what it was and decided he was in front of the stairs that led up to the bedrooms on the second floor.

Mama said, "That's ridiculous, Inuyasha. No one's been down there for a week and a half."

"Look, lady," Inuyasha growled, "I can hear it. Unless you got some serious kick-ass youkai hearing, then you try tellin' me I'm hearin' wrong! Get me down there, before this damn seal kills me!"

"Fine, dear, back up." he heard a clicking sound, and the shouting became more prominent. Inuyasha went to crawl forward, not realizing there were stairs there. He bounced down each and every one of them painfully and landed on his front, biting his tongue to keep from crying out as the landing forced the arrow through his back and snapped it off on the front.

"Inuyasha! Oh, my, are you alright?" Kagome's mom asked as she came down the stairs.

"Mama? Inuyasha!" That was Kagome's voice, muted. There was a loud knocking sound and he forced himself up to follow it.

"Kagome!" Kagome's mom yelled, appalled that Kagome would be inside the closed vault. Inuyasha reached the door and leaned on it. The spell in his exhaustion was almost winning.

"Mama! Get me out of here!"

"I'll get the key, baby, just hang on!" Inuyasha heard Kagome's mom shuffling around.

xXx

Kagome was incredibly relieved to hear her mother's voice, and filled with joy that mama had called out Inuyasha's name as if he were right there. There he came, her knight in shining armor like usual. He always saved her from the bad things.

"The key is gone!" Kagome heard mama say. "Hang on. I'll call the fire department."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, "The chains are old and rusted. You could probably just snap them."

"Hey, Kagome's mom, direct my hands to the chains," Inuyasha said in a voice that was distracted. Kagome wondered what had happened to him; the chains were in plain sight. He should be able to grab them himself. "Kagome…" Inuyasha called.

"Yeah, Inuyasha?" Kagome wanted to tell him right then and there that Sesshoumaru was the one who did it, but he would know already. He would have smelled Sesshoumaru's scent. He was probably already angry.

"If this kills me… I just want you to know…" he started, then he stopped. What was he talking about?

"They're just rusted chains!" Kagome yelled back through the door. "Just pull on them. It's not hard; even I could break them probably!" A few seconds later she heard the sound of groaning metal, and then a cracking noise. Then a thud, and finally the door creaked part way open.

Kagome squeezed herself out of the room, ignoring the pain in her feet. "Inuyasha," she squeaked happily before noticing he was lying motionless on the ground. "Inuyasha!" she threw herself forward and shook his shoulders, trying to wake him up.

"Inuyasha, wake up, wake up!" she demanded. Mama stood at the bottom of the secret staircase and watched silently as Kagome tried to wake the still boy. Then Kagome felt moisture on her hands and pulled away. His blood was on her hands.

Hastily she pulled the two layers of his haori back and saw the small stub of a broken arrow shaft. He wasn't dead, simply sealed. Damn him, he really had her scared! She reached out for it like she had that very first time and started to carefully pull it out. Once she had enough of it, she grabbed it and concentrated on taking it out. It disintegrated almost instantly and his 'peaceful features' became a little less peaceful as he wrinkled his nose and fell into an exhausted sleep.

She decided she could yell at him tomorrow. 'He probably has been fighting that spell for a while now.' she thought.

Mama said quietly, "Then if you're here… who is at your father's house?" She shook her head as Kagome mused over those words. "Never mind. We can worry about that tomorrow. I'll bring the first aid kit and wake Souta to help carry Inuyasha up to the couch." Mama did want to know how Kagome came to be locked in the vault, but that was also a question for tomorrow.

* * *

**End.**


	8. Bad Copy

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Eight

The previous night had been a long one. Kagome had tended to Inuyasha's wounds even though she knew he'd heal either way. He'd once healed an entire hole in his stomach in just a few days. After mama had tended to Kagome's wounds, she went to make tea and Kagome sat by the couch to watch over Inuyasha. She folded her fingers in Inuyasha's and worried about whether or not he would still be sealed.

Then she'd fallen asleep before she could drink mama's tea. Now she awoke with a terrible ache in her back from sleeping propped in a goofy way against the couch, but it was comforting to know Inuyasha was awake. He sat perched on his toes on the arm of the couch, staring at her intensely.

"G'morning Inuyasha." she said brightly.

"Nothin' good about it. This whole house smells like my damn half-brother." He decided to wait to tell her the bad news of the events on the other side of the well. He watched as Kagome's smile faded, but he did have to know if his nose was working properly again.

"He was here," Kagome whispered so softly that even he wasn't sure she actually spoke. She looked over to the chair that Sesshoumaru had sat in. "He came in through the kitchen, and he sat right there." She decided to omit the part where Sesshoumaru threw her across the room. "He was looking for something and said it would be in the vault. So I took him to the vault, but he didn't find it there so he was irritated and locked me in."

"Why'd you take off th' seal?" Inuyasha asked abruptly.

She felt her face flush with embarrassment. "You're my friend…" 'Well just how easy would it be to love someone who is as good as a mannequin?' she demanded of him in her mind. 'Don't you think that would be kind of silly? Why are you so completely stupid?'

"Kagome, Inuyasha… please come into the kitchen…" mama said as she came into the room. She had called Toshiro and the Kagome-double was asked to come home. She had been brought, and Souta was occupying Toshiro upstairs while mama figured out which of the Kagome's was the real one.

When Kagome walked into the kitchen using the crutches and saw her supposed likeness sitting at the table with a scowl on her face, she couldn't help but think it was a bad copy of her. She only scowled like that at people like Naraku who deserved it.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the double. "It smells like wood."

"What is this fake!" the Kagome-double demanded. "Are you trying to replace me, witch?" she rounded on Kagome's mother and glared.

Inuyasha walked around the room and grabbed the Kagome-double by the hair before plunging his hand through the double's back. Mama covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Even Kagome winced. It looked painful. Good thing she wasn't the fake… It was over very quick and the only thing left behind was a strand of hair wrapped around a wood golem that was in Inuyasha's hand, and a pile of twigs and leaves.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said in exasperation, "how many times do I have to tell you? In my time, we have to take a _diplomatic_ route to resolution."

Inuyasha waved the six inch tall wood golem in his hand and shrugged. "I'm more hands-on. Diplomacy is for those who rule the lands." He practically ignored her. And this was the guy she fell in love with? Really, an impeccable taste in men...

"Urg! You're _so_ impossible!" Kagome shouted, pointing accusingly at him. Mama turned her back to the mess to hide her features; she was unnaturally disturbed by what she had seen.

"Thanks." Inuyasha smiled as if it were a wonderful compliment. He hadn't been paying attention though. He'd been too busy using his hands to crush the wood golem. And crushing the crushed bits… as if he'd been served some serious injustice, even though Kagome would have been the one who was wronged—it had been her likeness after all!

"What's going on? I heard a shout," said a worried voice from behind Kagome in the kitchen doorway.

Kagome's heart soared to hear that voice. She knew it showed on her face, but she couldn't help it. She spun so fast that her bad feet gave up on her and she went tumbling. "Dad!" Inuyasha was there in an instant to catch her arm (didn't he know how to be gentle?) and right her. She'd feel that in her arm for days…

"Kagome… you're… well," Toshiro scratched the back of his neck, "much more chipper than before…"

Kagome let the lies start flowing—she'd been practicing all two minutes of her waking time for this—and beamed at her dad, "Well, I was just so _totally_ upset over everything, and I'm really sorry!" Not much of a lie... Toshiro's eyes looked pointedly at Inuyasha, who was clapping his hands together to knock wood-dust from them. "Oh! Dad, this is Inuyasha—er…" 'Last name, last name, what the heck kind of last name would he have if he were from my time anyway?' she asked herself.

Mama cut in, setting cups of tea for everyone—including Souta who had bounced happily into the kitchen after Toshiro—on the table. "Mr. Nokugami… I mean, Inuyasha," mama chuckled as Kagome gave her a grateful look, "was in the neighborhood this morning to see Kagome. That's why I asked you to bring her over. I thought it might cheer her up."

"You were upset, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked in a dumbfounded voice. "I mean, yeah, my idiot half-brother's a _little_ intimidating, but he's not that"—Kagome elbowed her friend and glared at him—"oh, yeah… upset…" he amended.

Toshiro looked suspiciously at Kagome, her mother, and her friend. "Well, you did say you'd come to my house for a few days, Kagome…" her father said dubiously. 'Great,' Kagome thought, 'I got my detective dad suspicious of me!'

"Uh, sure thing…" Kagome said hesitantly and snuck a look at Inuyasha. He seemed to realize her line of thought, because he shrugged ever-so-imperceptibly. Kagome thought, 'Yeah, as if he would _ever _believe me if I told him Inuyasha was born well over five hundred years ago... I think dad being suspicious is just paranoia on my part!'

Inuyasha turned to look at Ai and said in a manner that was incredibly different from how Kagome had always known him to be, "Kagome's mom, can I stay here a couple days?"

Mama chuckled. "Call me Ai, dear. And of course you can. Until you can go home, you're welcome here."

Souta gave an excited 'yip' and jumped at Inuyasha, grabbing the red cloth of his sleeve. "Cool! Inuyasha, you can play tennis with me, and go to Kain's tournament! It's gonna be so awesome!"

"Hang on, kid," Inuyasha said and grabbed Kagome by the arm. "I gotta talk t' Kagome." Kagome looked helplessly at her mother who only smiled as her daughter was dragged out the kitchen patio door and into the out-of-doors. Toshiro looked confused, but mama assured him everything was perfectly normal.

Inuyasha was considerate of Kagome and the fact that her ankle was twisted. He let her lean on him as she walked. They went around the shrine to the well-house and Kagome knew she could procrastinate no longer. She had to tell him the truth: she'd broken the well, and now her miko power was simply _gone_.

"Inuyasha," she started out nervously. He grunted to show he was listening and opened the well house door. His arm went around her waist, causing a warm blush to cross her cheeks, and he jumped down the few steps to land swiftly by the lip of the well. She was grateful the well house wasn't brightly lit. "There's something I need to tell you."

"I gotta tell you somethin' too," Inuyasha told her. She wasn't happy when he released her and he sat grumpily on the well lip. "But you go first."

"No, no, that's alright," Kagome insisted, "you can go first." She was glad to procrastinate such a horrible truth.

"No, you go ahead an' say what you gotta," Inuyasha told her, not looking at her. In fact he was looking anywhere but at her, because if he looked at her once he wouldn't be able to look away and when he told her about Sango and the others, he didn't want to see her face.

"Oh, okay…" Kagome looked at her hands, wishing he would look at her, speak to her in a less-than-gruff tone of voice… wishing that he would care. But she knew where his heart stood, and that was with Kikyou. Still, she had an inexplicable, _and totally insane _desire to stand by his side no matter what. It'd be harder to do now… "Oh, Inuyasha, I'm so sorry! I broke the well, and it's not working and I tried to go through and now Sesshoumaru's lived this long and he's coming after me because the last time I saw him I called him a jerk and it's all my fault 'cause I broke it I'm so sorry!"

She had to get it out really fast or she wouldn't say it at all. Unfortunately it seemed more like he couldn't decipher a word she said. Still, she couldn't say it again. She couldn't make herself say it again even if she wanted to.

"Um, Kagome, I…" he frowned, his eyebrows scrunching up as he tried to mentally discern what she could possibly have said. 'Sorry, it's not working, now Sesshoumaru's coming.' What the heck was she talking about? "Wait…" 'No… it can't be… I thought he attacked her…' "Kagome, are you like…" he crossed his forefingers like an 'x' "You know… with my idiot half-brother?" He stared at her, the clear horror displayed on his features.

Kagome's face turned an angry scarlet color and she yelled at her friend, "No! You dummy, I never said anything like that!" She would have turned heel and stormed away from him—it was her usual recourse—but her ankle screamed at just standing there in fury. Storming away was not an option at this point.

"But you said"—he started, only to be yelled at a little more, "I _never_ said anything like that! Your brother is a creepy, homicidal, egotistical maniac who looks like a dang girl!" Inuyasha bit his lip, humor creasing his gorgeous eyes. Kagome continued, "I hate your brother, and he's the scariest person in the whole world! Naraku's not even as scary, 'cause he's predictable! Sesshoumaru is just insane!"

"Wait, you ain't scared of me?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome thought she sensed a little bit of hurt in his voice. She knew he wanted to be the most powerful, and use the jewel to become a youkai. She liked him sane, though.

"Well," she started and the excuse was already lame, "you're… scary…"

"Keh," he grumbled, "you don't really think that."

She sat next to him, placing her hand on her friend's forearm. "Something's bothering you, isn't there?" She asked and he surprised her by nodding.

"I can't go back. It's really not working, and your world is confusing and noisy. I belong in my world, not here." He picked at his sleeve for a long moment. "And… there's something else…"

"What is it, Inuyasha?"

"Something real bad… it's brewin' an' that's back in my world. But here, there's the smell of blood. It's on your dad, an' mixed with Sesshoumaru's smell on you…" He hung his head, his hair hiding his features that would betray too much expression. "I don't want you gettin' hurt, Kagome. I want th' damn well t' start workin' again, bu' I just had t' beg it just t' get through. It don't want to work."

"We'll get it working again," Kagome assured him. She felt really bad for him to be stuck in her world. At first, she actually thought she was a little happy to have it broken yet have him on her side of the well. She thought it was a stroke of luck. Now she realized how selfish those thoughts were. His sensitive nose and ears were probably on fire.

She reached out and hugged her friend only he stiffened at the contact it brought. "Until it works again, mama said you could stay here. You can sleep in my room if you want to."

He paled and shoved her away, "In your room? With you there? Are you crazy?" he demanded before dashing away from her like she was some sort of disease.

"Inuyasha, sit!" she yelled, furious that he would make it sound like such a bad thing. She heard him screech and knew the spell was successful. She limped her way past him and into the house again, fuming. "Dad!" she called, and Toshiro immediately responded to her call. He came out of the kitchen and blinked at her. "I'm _so_ ready to go!"

"Uh, what?" he asked, unsure of why she was so instantly ready.

Mama laughed from the kitchen and Souta called, "Kagome, you better not have sat big brother!" he dashed out to the courtyard and screeched as his hero was cemented against the courtyard. "Inuyasha!" he ran over as Inuyasha impatiently tapped his forefinger on the ground, waiting for the spell to end.

By the time it had, Kagome was leaving with her father. She glared at him and he glared right back. With a quiet whisper she knew he would hear but her father wouldn't, she said, "Sit boy!" He was once more plastered to the pavement. Kagome had her father to help her get safely down the stairs using the crutches and he helped her get into his car. She had only gotten a few feet away from the shrine into traffic before she was scowling internally.

'Why is stupid Inuyasha so stupidly callous?' she wanted to know. Her mind provided no answers.

* * *

**End.**


	9. Bad Attitude

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

Chapter Nine

Kagome squealed loudly as she saw her brother Heiji and did her best impression of a tackle (or at least the best tackle she could manage with having to walk on crutches). Heiji blinked at Kagome and briefly wondered for a moment if she hadn't gotten a little bit shorter in the past few hours. He discarded the thought and wrapped his arms around her to share in her laughter.

He'd been so confused last night when she came; she'd been rather nasty to him, incredibly polite to Shizuka (which was surprising in itself as the two never did click well), and very loud toward their dad. It was everything the opposite of how she was _supposed_ to be. Sure, it had been a year since they'd seen her, but a total personality make-over?

"So, ya back t' yourself?" he asked her. Toshiro picked up Kagome's discarded crutches with a smile on his face. "Gonna be crabby wit' my mother?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed, and with her being so close Heiji almost felt his blood curdle in his veins. He was so glad that wasn't directed at him. Kagome on the other hand was thinking about how mean Shizuka was. Kagome's dislike was understandable; Shizuka was like the evil step-mother from Cinderella.

'Kagome-ella, that's what I am!' she thought bitterly.

Toshiro said, "Kagome, are you willing to hear about school options today?"

Kagome squealed again, much to Heiji's displeasure. His ears were ringing now. He carefully set his sister on her feet. "I am _so_ ready and willing! Why wouldn't I be?" She wrapped her arms around Heiji's waist, hugging him like he was a teddy bear.

Toshiro pursed his lips, "Because last night you told me to go to hell and never mention school again." Kagome could even feel the blood draining from her face. 'What did that golem do to me?' she wondered, feeling almost desperate to know. 'What _else_ did it do?'

"I'm sorry, dad," Kagome started but a sudden voice told them all that Shizuka had left the house to glare at all three of them.

"Toshiro, you should be at work! And Heiji, darling, you haven't finished organizing your bedroom yet? It's been three days and we're still not moved in! And Kagome! My goodness, you're just a right peach, aren't you? You keep everyone from their work, just because you've already set your room up! Well, you can organize the upstairs bathroom then, to be sure!" Shizuka was an iron fist ruler of the household, never minding the fact that by the law of nature it was a man's job to be the iron fist.

Toshiro sighed as his wife went back into the house. He handed Kagome her crutches, "Well, I'll see you later, princess. Heiji, you take good care of her, and give her those school brochures to look through later on when you're done with them." Toshiro went back down the few steps to get into his car again and head off to work.

"Kagome, I'm glad ya ain't mad still." Heiji said. He climbed up the rest of the steps and held the door open for her; she steeled herself and crutched her way inside, attempting to make it look like she'd already been there. It was more difficult than she would have thought. Her eyes just wanted to wander.

"It's been a rough week," Kagome said in what she hoped was a 'this is not a lie' way. "I'm really sorry for anything I said."

Heiji sent a grin at Kagome, "I'd hope ya were. 'Cause ya said a lot that I never would'a expected could come outta ya. Ya got a right foul mouth, Kagome." He gave her a silly little salute before dashing up the stairs just within the entryway. He disappeared at the top of the stairs.

'Just what _did_ I say?' she thought, her flesh going even greener if that was possible.

xXx

Finding her way around the house was difficult, but she managed to do it somewhat. The house was a decent sized one with two floors, an attic, and a basement. Shortly after she'd managed to crutch her way upstairs and found the upstairs bathroom filled with boxes, Heiji came knocking.

He said, "Ma's gone t' th' store an' I gotta go meet someone a'fore their sanity goes bankrupt. Keep th' doors t' th' house locked an' stay inside, but I should be back a'fore ya know I was gone." He pulled a baseball cap on and she grinned because Inuyasha jammed hats on his head in the same manner.

"Okay, Heiji." She said, "Will you lock the doors?" she looked pointedly at her ankle. She was sitting on the bathroom floor with her leg stretched out as she put together a shelf that towels would go on. He saluted her in that same childish way as always before taking off down the hall.

She continued assembling the shelf after he'd left. As soon as the shelf was put together and she managed to raise it to the likeliest place it was to rest, putting the bathroom together became as easy as clockwork. By the time she had the bathroom together, she found herself thirsty.

She attempted to get water from the sink in the bathroom, but turning the faucet on didn't work. No water came out of the sink or the shower. 'That's odd,' she thought. She grabbed her crutches and began her way down the hall in search of the kitchen. 'Well, dad just moved in, so maybe the water for the upstairs wasn't turned on yet.'

Either way, she decided not to mess with it. She crutched her way down the stairs and found the kitchen with relative ease. A quick search of her dad's cupboards provided her with a small glass. She found that Shizuka's kitchen television (the woman could not live without television while she cooked) was left on, but it was on mute.

She reached out and pushed the volume button to turn mute off. It was on a local news station.

_"—can see, there's been an increase in security at the Daone Museum. We asked Daone for comment; he said he was worried about the exhibits. So far it appears nothing has been taken from the museum. The damages to the Daone Museum's security system will be covered by insurance. Daone told authorities that he wants Kogoro Mori to handle the case."_

Kagome watched pictures of an old stone building that looked like a castle from the feudal era flash across the screen. The sight of it made her sigh; she always loved to look at castles. Those that she stayed in while she was in the feudal era were always magnificent. It made her feel awful now to know her power was just gone. She'd gotten used to it being there.

It had been comforting and without it she simply felt helpless. It made her feel special, but now she was just ordinary old Kagome. She set the cup in the sink and leaned for a moment against the counter. Without that power, without being able to feel it inside her, how was she able to remove the seal on Inuyasha? How was she able to sit him?

Was it really gone? What happened?

Even more important… what was Sesshoumaru looking for? And just what did she do to make him so very angry at her?

With yet another sigh, she decided now would be a good time to search the house and find out what was what, and where 'what' was. She gave herself a tour and for her own amusement, acted it out.

"And here we have the kitchen," she told herself as she made her way toward a door she didn't come in. "It certainly is a spacious kitchen. And this would be the dining room. You could probably fit a twenty person table in here, with room to spare. Very nice." The dining room was filled with boxes, but had her father's favorite ten-seater table and the eight chairs for it (Heiji had been a rambunctious child and broke two of ten chairs as a youth trying to build a space ship).

She continued through the door adjacent to her position. Her eyes wandered around the room. "The piano room," she decided, "where all your friends can come listen to your children audition their sweat and blood work!" Shizuka's family heirloom grand piano sat in the middle of the room surrounded by a fortress of boxes, all marked with "Shizuka's awards". Shizuka had grown up on the piano and probably would die on it too. A few closets were dispersed graciously throughout the piano room.

Another door led Kagome back to the entry hall, and a door just behind the staircase going up led to a staircase going into the basement (it looked dark and spooky down there, and she was not about to explore it). A door a few feet away from the basement stairs door led to, "The living room. Family fun, all in one. Geez, Kagome that sounded lame," she mumbled. She checked the doors in the living room and came up with one leading to an outdoor enclosed screen porch and a closet. "I really need to work on my tour guide acting." A door led Kagome to a bathroom, and a second door out of the bathroom led back to the kitchen. The bathroom had two closets.

She left the kitchen through the door that she came in the very first time and came out in a study that was already set up. It was obviously Toshiro's work space. Books of all sizes littered the shelves, as well as awards, trophies, keepsakes, and his own family heirlooms.

The door opposite her led back into the main entryway and she took herself back upstairs for the second part of her self-given tour.

"The bathroom," she said, smiling at her handiwork. The next room was filled with boxes that said, "Souta," on them. Furniture was in the room and had yet to be put together. The room had only one closet, but Souta never hung up his clothes anyway; he mostly kept them crumpled in his laundry basket if they were clean and on the floor if they were dirty.

Another room just had furniture. She guessed, "The guest room." She crossed the room to peer in the doors. One led to a closet the other led to a small bathroom with a standing shower, a toilet, and a simple sink. She left that room and entered the next room.

"The master bedroom," Kagome found two closets in it, yet another bathroom, and a small room that could be an office. The small room was filled with boxes that were labeled, "Shizuka's Work".

When she left that room, she found she had only one door left; at the end of the hall. Yet she hadn't come across any bedroom completely put together and Shizuka claimed she had hers done already. She made her way toward the door and opened it. "And here we have…" she paused in disappointed silence, "a stairs going up." So it wasn't her room after all.

She groaned as her inner self yelled for an elevator and began climbing. As if climbing wasn't hard enough, but now she had a narrow, twisty stair case going up that seemed ominous.

Then she was at the top and found herself in a hallway. "Wait, I thought…" she tried to recall what her mother told her about her father's new house. 'Two floors, a basement, and an attic.' She moaned. "This is supposed to be an attic?" she demanded. She walked down the dusty, dimly lit hall. The only light it had was from a large circular window at the very end.

Halfway down she had the option to go left or right through one door or another. She went right and found herself in a room filled with boxes and halfway assembled. The boxes read, "Heiji's Stuff".

She turned back and went through the door on the left. The room was assembled in a simple fashion. A few skirts and blouses hung in the closet and a few undergarments were in a dresser. A small shelf was littered with children's books. Dark green blankets covered the bed. The floor was just bare hardwood and in desperate need of sweeping; her white knee-high stockings were likely never going to be salvaged from this.

A small desk was in the room with a chair. Other than that, the room was mostly devoid of furnishings just like Souta's would be. She decided to go downstairs and fetch a broom. It wasn't like she'd have much else to do until Shizuka came to Kagome-ella her.

That decided, she moaned again at the thought of going down two sets of stairs. 'Does no one know my ankle is broken?' she demanded, her mental voice high pitched. She began crutching her way on a twisted ankle down the hall, then down the windy stairs, then down another hall to turn the corner and go down that hall just to get to the stairs to go down.

The first thing she noticed was the breeze coming through the main entry hall. She looked at the front door; it was closed. She shrugged off the bad feeling she was getting and went toward the living room. She was sure she saw a broom in there. She nearly screamed when she saw the porch door was open.

xXx

Shin'ichi yawned as he looked over the files with Heiji in the park. Heiji had been 'nice' and brought information on the murder cases to share with Shin'ichi, although Shin'ichi knew it had to be some sort of fluke. Heiji wanted something. But the question was, what did he want?

There wasn't much information on the murder cases, although the recent murder at the school did give a little more evidence into the crimes. The man who was killed, Shin'ichi didn't fail to notice that it was a man this time whereas all the others had been female, was principal of the school. One student was known to be the last person to see him alive, and her prints had been all over the crime scene.

"Who was the student? Did they get a name?" Shin'ichi asked. He rubbed his wide eyes, yawning yet again. It just wasn't fair that Ran had decided to get sick. He was up with her all night, attempting to hold her hair as she vomited up her incredibly light supper of _chicken broth_. Not chicken soup, but just the broth.

Then he had to get up early because she decided to get infinitely sicker. She was so much sicker that for some reason that seemed physically impossible to explain by scientific reasoning, her eyes were turning an odd yellow color. It wasn't just the iris turning yellow, or just the whites of her eyes. From her pupils to the whites of her eyes, everything was that odd _food coloring_ yellow.

Shin'ichi wanted to take her to the hospital, but Mori complained about how much that would cost. So Shin'ichi had said in his most Conan-like voice that he'd ask his rich 'aunt' and 'uncle' the Kudo family to pay the hospital expenses and Mori gave in when he received a call from _Shin'ichi_. It had been a devil trying to get away from Mori to even make that phone call because Mori was sober between the hours of six AM and ten AM.

The doctors ran all sorts of tests but couldn't find anything wrong with her other than she had a cold. They prescribed an antibiotic and said to have her take it once a day, and then Mori had whacked 'Conan' a few times for making a big deal out of a cold. But he was sure it had to be something more. Eyes didn't turn yellow from common colds.

_"We've seen it before, though there's still no explanation for it. It'll clear up on it's own, but the cold we can deal with using this antibiotic." The doctor had said. _

"It was my sissy," Heiji said. "She came over last night an' th' police came t' question 'er. I never saw my sissy so angry a'fore." Shin'ichi looked at Heiji with surprise clear on his features. Heiji's sister was the last to see the principal alive? That was pretty suggestive as if saying that she was the one that killed him.

"What'd she say?" Shin'ichi asked.

Heiji fell silent and stared at the pages in front of him, his hands splayed out on the top and bottom of the pages to keep them from blowing away. He was frowning as he thought about what Kagome had said.

_"That fucking principal got what he deserved!" Kagome screamed making Inspector Megure's jaw drop and Toshiro frown. Even Heiji had been unnerved, especially since she'd greeted him a few hours before by calling him a piece of shit low-life. _

_"What do you mean?" Inspector Megure asked. _

_Kagome pointed accusingly at Megure. "Do you have a warrant for my arrest? Unless you do, I suggest you shut your fat ass face and get your answers elsewhere, 'cause I won't say shit to you!" _

"My pops asked Megure not t' take it personally. He promised Megure she'd calm down in a day or two an' they'd get their answers. She's jus' had a bad week." Heiji sighed. "An' pops was right. She went back t' her ma's for an hour this mornin' an' came back happy."

"You mean, she calls Megure a fat ass and you think he's not going to take it personally?" Shin'ichi seriously doubted Megure, for all that he was pretty laid back, _couldn't_ take it personally. It'd be pretty hard to ignore. "Your sister must be pretty stupid," he grumbled.

Heiji instantly looked at Shin'ichi and then gathered up the papers. "Kids shouldn't get involved in adult stuff." He narrowed his eyes as Shin'ichi glared at him in protest, then let a tiny evil look cross his features. "I'm gonna tell Ran ya were out alone."

"But I wasn't!" Shin'ichi yelled but his child's voice lacked what his adult voice would have had. "You dumb ass!" Heiji had taken off down the street.

"I think I'll tell her ya swearin' too!" Heiji called as he headed in the direction of the Mori residence.

* * *

**End. **


	10. Bad School

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

Chapter Ten

Kagome sighed in relief as she went out onto the enclosed porch and found the porch door to be still locked. 'And for a second there, I thought Sesshoumaru was here,' she chuckled. She went back into the house, laughing at her own silly paranoia. "I probably just left the door open when I gave myself a tour!" she said, feeling the breeze coming through the screened in porch.

She closed the porch door and locked it then went and grabbed the broom. She couldn't find a dust pan but there had been a cleaning closet in the kitchen. She went into the kitchen and searched the cleaning closet for a dust pan. As her hand gripped the dust pan, she heard a clatter in another room of the house and nearly jumped out of her skin.

She gripped the dust pan tightly and the plastic handle cried in protest. "Shizuka?" she called out. "Heiji, that you?" She received no response. "Heiji, are you trying to scare me? Because if you are its working!" Still no response came. Another clatter made her squeak nervously.

She closed her eyes tight. "Just a figment of my imagination… or a mouse. A very big mouse. A rat the size of a poodle. Or a murderous inu-youkai who wants to kill me for calling him a jerk." The instant that came out of her mouth, she dropped the dust pan and practically flew across the kitchen to the counter despite her twisted ankle. She opened drawer after drawer for the knives and found a nice, serrated, wide steak knife.

"Haha," she said nervously as she looked toward the direction the clattering noise was coming from. "I'm just paranoid; this is me, paranoid and completely freaked out."

She let out a loud scream as a black gloved hand began to push open the door to her father's study open, the fingers visible. Then she realized she'd fallen on her behind and the knife was a few inches away from her body. She couldn't feel his power at all. That didn't mean she didn't know who he was.

She scrabbled for the knife and got a hold of it just as he grabbed her hair and dragged her up, pressing her against the counter using his body. She could only stare at his eyes the instant they met hers. She didn't want to look at those cold, golden eyes.

Then he yanked on her hair and she found herself looking forcibly at the ceiling, whimpering in pain as it felt like he was pulling chunks out of her head. He started speaking and it scared her ten times more.

"Such a shame you got out of the vault…" he said, his lips so close to her ear she couldn't have not heard it. 'He's gonna kill me! I need to develop some sort of telepathy so I can scream Inuyasha's name and he can come rescue me from his creepy insane psychopath of a brother, because now I'm about to die and why am I thinking this, its good that Heiji and Shizuka aren't here right now or they'd be dead like I'm about to be dead!' Her breathing came in short pants.

At least it was safe to say she wasn't paranoid. Sesshoumaru really was after her.

"What do you want from me?" she managed to squeak out. "Why are you following me?"

"What do I want from you?" he repeated as if thinking the question an absurd one. She thought it was a very valid question and wished he would think so as well. After all, it was her future she was looking at and if there was any hope of surviving this encounter, she wanted to know about it.

She could hear his nose sniffing her for an unendingly long moment and when his tongue ran across the flesh of her neck, she realized the knife was still in her hand. With a frightened cry, she sliced at his face, intent on startling him at least enough that she could get away.

She smelled the metallic scent of blood and it dripped onto her clothes. He leaned back and released her hair, but still his body trapped her against the cupboard and she could admire her handiwork as he ran that black gloved hand against the wound. His golden eyes never left her midnight ones; they even sparkled with sinister mirth.

Then he took his bloodied hand and ran it across her mouth. She nearly vomited then and there. He again leaned his face close to hers, and his blood dripped freely from a wound that wasn't closing like it should have by now. Inuyasha healed faster than that, so certainly a youkai should be unaffected by such a wound for more than a few seconds.

"Try that again?" he asked her, smiling that smile that made her blood boil in an 'Oh shit, I'm about to die' way. She felt the knife slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor. He resumed his strange ministrations of her body as she was too petrified to move. "What do I want from you?" he asked again.

'He's gonna kill me, he's gonna kill me…'

He didn't have to hold her head still using his only hand now. He used it to pull on her blouse collar and she felt the pitiable cloth rip, could hear it tearing as he exposed her chest and then the white blouse was nothing but tattered remains of its once-glory and lying on the floor. She stood before him in nothing but a green skirt, her stockings, and her bright white lace bra.

'Scratch that,' she thought too panicked to even remember she had arms that she could use to shove him away, not that she'd get far. 'Raped, _then_ killed. Today's going to be an awful last day of my life. I knew I should've kissed Inuyasha when I had the chance…'

"What do… I want… from you?" he asked yet again as he ran his tongue against her shoulder. A tear trickled down her face to mingle with the blood he'd smeared on her mouth. This really didn't seem like the Sesshoumaru she knew. Five hundred years really hadn't done him much good; he'd only gone from worse to worst. Now he was molesting helpless young, and not to mention very _human_ girls.

'I'm being licked by a psychopath and I'm about to die oh this day couldn't possibly get any worse!'

He took the glove from his hand using his teeth and then let it fall to the floor.

"I want what anyone wants…" her mouth shot open in pained silent screaming as he twisted her around and his claws scratched down her back. "I want to serve my master." When his scratching stopped, she could only lean against the counter, trying to make sense of the world. He'd scratched deep, she knew that much. "You shouldn't have destroyed the golem. You should have died in that vault. Now, you are going to wish you had."

_This Sesshoumaru serves no one._ She recalled he'd said those words once. He would not have a master back then, so what bound him to one now? Her sobs found the voice they sought. _This Sesshoumaru serves no one, but for himself. This Sesshoumaru is served, not the server._

Then he was gone. Kagome tried to pull herself together. Surely Shizuka or Heiji would be home soon. She couldn't let them see the mess. She _could not_ let them get themselves involved. She used her tattered blouse to clean up the blood that had dripped to the floor, grabbed the glove he had worn, and the bloody knife and made her way upstairs to the bathroom she had organized.

She looked at the wound in the mirror. The scratches made a word: _pet_. She heard a knocking and it nearly made her jump right out of her skin. He was right; she did wish she were still in that vault. "Kagome did you finish yet?" It was Shizuka.

"Yes!" she called, trying to bring strength to her voice. It was hard because of the pain in her back, but at least she could look on the bright side: she wasn't noticing the pain in her feet anymore.

"Well, open up and let me see!" Shizuka ordered.

"Uh, just a minute." She reached for the bandages and did her best to bandage it, although the awkward position it was on her back made for bandaging it on her own very difficult. Plus, with no water to the upstairs bathroom, she couldn't clean it before bandaging it.

"Ma!" Kagome heard Heiji calling, "What do you want to do with this stuff?"

"What is it?" Shizuka called back down.

"I donno!" Heiji yelled. "That's why I'm asking!"

As Kagome tied off her bandage and wrapped a towel around her shoulders, folding the knife up in her blouse she heard Shizuka's steps retreating. Kagome had to leave the crutches and walk without their aid or forfeit the modesty of a towel. She went as fast as she could toward her room; she was going to go inside it and not come out until it was time to go back to the shrine.

If she had her power, she could have done him damage. Could he sense the fact that she seemed to have no power? She jammed her desk chair up against her bedroom door securely and hid the knife under her mattress, then got undressed and wiped residual blood away from her body before getting dressed in a new blouse and skirt and curling up on her bed.

She survived, but this only proved he would continue to torment her. She only had to wait a few days until she got to go back home. She had serious doubts that her dad would let Inuyasha come stay, and even more doubts that if Inuyasha knew Sesshoumaru was after her, he would let her stay with her dad.

She touched her face where his blood had been. 'What does he want from me?'

xXx

Inuyasha grabbed the ball out of the air as it flew toward him. The fuzzy yellow ball was easy to catch and he really liked this game. Since Souta didn't have school, he decided it was a day for playing the game he called 'Tennis'. He explained to Inuyasha how the game worked, but Inuyasha abandoned using the racket when he'd gripped two of them too hard and shattered the handles into nothing but splinters.

Instead, he used his hands to catch the ball and toss it back to Souta who would then serve it back for him to catch. He grinned as he once more caught the ball with ease. Souta was getting tired, but Inuyasha wasn't even breaking a sweat. He watched Souta fall on his behind and rub his sword arm, breathing unevenly.

"Wow, you caught it every time!" Souta said as Inuyasha came over. Inuyasha plopped down beside the young boy, an immovable grin on his face. "I bet Kain could get it past you though."

Inuyasha boasted, "Yeah right! I can catch 'em all." He slipped a finger beneath the bandana Kagome's mom had tied to his head. He already missed the Tetsusaiga. The sheath was in the house lying on Kagome's bed. He was worried about if he were to run into Sesshoumaru—if he got mad and went berserk, what then? Would Kagome be able to bring him back to sanity?

Souta grinned and jumped up to his feet. Inuyasha stood, thinking he wanted to go another round. It didn't bother Inuyasha. This game was easy; he could do it all day. "Let's go find Kain and we'll test it out!" Inuyasha looked at the well and strengthened his resolve. If Kagome could live in her world without going insane, he could too.

"Inuyasha?" Souta asked, waving a hand in front of Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha was distracted. He grinned and jumped back to give him some firing room, and then smashed the tennis ball. He nearly fell over when Inuyasha burst out of his thoughtful reverie and dove for the ball, catching it at the expense of the modern clothes mama made him wear. The blue jeans ended up with rips in both knees and the black tee shirt tore at the hem.

"Aw man!" Souta pouted, "I thought I had you too."

Inuyasha smirked. "Like I said. I'm the toughest guy I know."

"Souta, Inuyasha, dinners ready! Come on in and eat!" Inuyasha walked into the house, tossing the ball up and down in his hand. There was no way he was going to miss out on Kagome's mom's cooking. Kagome might be a terrible cook, but her mom was a great cook.

Souta handled most of the conversation at dinner, and Inuyasha ate most of the food. Mama listened with great interest as Souta relayed the events of his practicing with Inuyasha, including details on each and every catch Inuyasha made. Very quickly the praise and adoration Souta was directing at Inuyasha made Inuyasha turn red-faced.

Then mama took over the conversation. "Tomorrow you'll be back in school, Souta." She said. "It was on the news that all schools will be reopening."

"Aw, but mama, I don't wanna go!" Souta whined with a mouth full of food.

"Is this 'school' that bad?" Inuyasha questioned.

Souta nodded and swallowed rather than chewing the noodles. "School's the worst place ever! They keep you stuffed in a chair all day and give you detention if you talk." Souta was about to set out on a rant about how awful school was when mama cut in.

"School is a place to go learn new things. Souta, don't go babbling poor Inuyasha's ears off; he has sensitive hearing you know." Souta blushed and shoved some food in his mouth self-consciously. She chuckled and continued, "Did you have the opportunity to learn things as a young boy, Inuyasha?"

He played with his food as he thought about that question. Of course he'd learned things. His mother was a princess and had been taught to read and write and do mathematics so to better serve her future husband. She'd given Inuyasha those lessons as well from the get-go. Almost as soon as Inuyasha could walk, he'd also had lessons in self-defense from his half-brother who sought only to make sure Inuyasha could defend himself and wouldn't besmirch the reputation of the greatest inu-youkai bloodline with a pathetic death.

Of course, those lessons disappeared after Inuyasha's mother died. That was also when Sesshoumaru decided that Inuyasha was too pathetic to keep around. _You couldn't even defend your mother. You're a pathetic hanyou, and I wasted my time._ Sesshoumaru's words still sent anger coursing through Inuyasha's veins. It made revenge that much sweeter when he cut his brother's arm off. He'd surpassed his brother's expectations, especially since his brother had expected to have assassinated Inuyasha years before.

Inuyasha's father probably hadn't expected Sesshoumaru to teach Inuyasha anything and he managed to stay alive this long; granted he had been sealed once or three times, but he was still alive and he grudgingly had Sesshoumaru to thank for that for more than just one reason. His brother could have killed him a few days ago in the forest, and he still wondered why he hadn't.

"Yeah, my mother gave me some lessons," Inuyasha said, thinking back to a fond memory of his mother attempting to ignore a young boy's pleading with little success. He hadn't liked those lessons any more than it appeared Souta did. He always wanted to get outside and play.

"Oh really? What was your mama like?" Souta demanded. "Was she really good at cooking?"

Inuyasha couldn't hold back a chuckle as he was forced into his memories. "My mother never cooked a day in her life. She was th' Lady Izayoi. I was still a baby when my idiot half-brother came t' her and said he had contracted a human lord t' marry her." His mother had never looked directly into the human lord's eyes, and the human lord took concubines in his bed rather than Inuyasha's mother.

_The woman's a witch!_ Inuyasha could recall hearing many times. But as per the agreement with Sesshoumaru, Izayoi and Inuyasha were protected… for a while. Then when one of the lord's concubines died in the lord's bedroom, Izayoi was openly called a witch and burned at the stake while Inuyasha tried to stop it. The humans threw stones at Inuyasha and chased him away. At the time he was probably the equivalent of a ten or eleven year old.

Sesshoumaru found out about Izayoi's death and because the contract was broken, the entire human clan had been wiped out by the Killing Perfection; by the Aristocratic Assassin. After that, Sesshoumaru came after Inuyasha.

"My mother was th' most beautiful of all women. She was kind, smart, and passionate when she had somethin' worth protectin'. I guess her only failin' was that she loved youkai as much as she loved humans." He stared at the noodles on his plate. "She always said what we are ain't what matters, but what we do does."

"Wow, I wish my"—a glare from his mother made Souta quickly stop that line of thought. "I mean, that's cool…"

Inuyasha grinned and ruffled Souta's hair. "So what's it take for a guy like me t' go t' one of these school things?" he only half-joked.

Mama tapped her plate with her chopsticks in thought. "Well, you'd have to take an entrance exam to see what level you're at. Then when you have your scores, you apply to the school of your choice."

Souta insisted, "You don't wanna go to school, Inuyasha! Trust me, there's studying all the time and," Inuyasha grinned and began eating. Kagome was always talking about school and how wonderful it was, and after she'd just ranted on the wonders of school she'd launch into a lengthy tirade on how awful school was. Since he wasn't going home for a while with the well broken, he might as well see what it's all about.

"If I don't like it, I wouldn't have to keep goin' anyways," Inuyasha pointed out. "But I think it'd be interestin', just t' see."

Mama smiled. "Well, I'll see if I can get an appointment with the entrance exams set up for you. In the meantime, why don't you take a peek into some of Souta's text books?"

Inuyasha blinked. "Aren't Kagome's books th' same thing?"

Souta said, "Kagome's older, so her stuff's more of the advanced stuff. Mine's the basics."

Inuyasha grinned yet again in a secretive manner. "I'll be okay then."

Mama nodded. "Alright, but only if you're sure." Oh yes, he was sure.

* * *

**End.**


	11. Bad Cut

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Eleven

The soft knock on her bedroom door came when Kagome's watch started beeping the six o'clock evening alarm. She mutely reached over to her watch and pressed the button that would shut the alarm off. In normal circumstances if she had been in the feudal era, the sounding of that alarm would instantly initiate an argument between her and Inuyasha.

"No, no, no!" Inuyasha would instantly shout. "We are _not stopping_ just because you're all weak humans!" But it would be too late because Kagome would have already stopped, Kirara and Miroku would already have started collecting wood for the evening, and Shippou and Sango would be rolling out the bed mats while Kagome went searching for water.

She should have stayed in the feudal era. At least she was safe there.

"Kagome?" Heiji called through the wood door. The door handle jiggled alerting her to the fact that her brother was trying to get in. With the chair wedged up against the door, he'd have to use great amounts of force to get inside, or climb in one of her windows. She had a lot of them, but they were on the third floor.

She didn't answer her brother's calls, but he was persistent. "Kagome, ain't ya comin' down for some food? Ma made fried fish an' vegi's, an' pops come home early t' eat."

"No, thanks," Kagome called out. "I'm not hungry," her stomach protested the lie. "I'm just really tired."

For a moment, there was only silence. Then Heiji said, "Ya best open up, Kagome, or I'll tell pops about th' blood on th' kitchen floor." Crap. Blackmail. She was sure she cleaned it all up. Her mind whirled into overdrive; she couldn't show him the wound on her back. He'd totally freak out. _She_ totally freaked out. Before she realized what she'd done, to cover up what happened and keep her second encounter with Sesshoumaru a secret, she'd pulled the knife from under her mattress.

'I have to,' she thought. 'I can't let anyone know, or they might involve themselves and there isn't any way they could stand up to a demon like him.' She took the knife and dragged it down her arm creating a three inch long, deep gash that bled insistently. She bit back a pained gasp, and then dug the towel from her hamper and wrapped it around the wound. The knife she dropped into the hamper and then closed the lid.

It only took a few seconds to do, but Heiji was getting impatient and rapping on the door again and again. "Kagome, stop ignorin' me."

"I'm coming," she said, a momentary pause between the words as she felt sweat beading on her forehead. She had so many pains on her body now that it was impossible to tell which one to pay attention to. She kicked the chair out of the way and limped back to sit on the bed.

Heiji practically fell into the room as what kept him out was removed. "Ka-go-me," he complained, rubbing his elbow from where he'd jammed it against the floor. His eyes fell on the crude wrapping on her arm and he took notice that she'd changed since this afternoon. "Kagome, what happened?" he asked instantly and crossed the expansive room to be by her side.

"It's nothing, really," she insisted, amending in her head, 'I did it to myself, so no reason fussing.' She let a lie fall from her lips, assuring herself that it was for his own protection that she was doing it. "I fell and hooked my arm on something earlier." She'd sat in her room for several hours since the incident with Sesshoumaru… why didn't Heiji come see her earlier if he knew about the blood?

"Lemme see," he ignored her protests and took her arm, peeling back the towel. Blood pulsed from the wound actively, and with his keen attention to detail, he noticed that given the amount of time he knew she'd been upstairs and that he'd been in the kitchen since his arrival at home helping his mother prepare dinner, there should have been a lot more blood on the towel at the rate it was pumping out blood.

There was something she wasn't telling him. He put a clean spot of the towel on the wound and put pressure on it. For now, he decided to just let the issue slide. The wound probably wouldn't need real stitches, but the first aid kit he kept in his room had butterfly stitches. The only issue he had was figuring out what box he put the kit in.

"Ya gotta be th' clumsiest chick ever!" Heiji said. "Hold this an' I'll be right back." She put pressure on the cloth and the wound underneath it and silently watched him leave. 'When are you coming for me next, Sesshoumaru?' she wondered. 'Will I be with my family or are you constantly going to catch me alone?'

After much grumbling coming from the room across the hall, Heiji came back with a first aid box. He used antiseptic wipes on the wound, then dabbed it dry with a clean spot of towel, and then used the butterfly stitches. Lastly he put a bandage and gauze wrap around Kagome's arm to catch the excess blood.

"Why would ya be dumb enough t' keep this secret?" he demanded finally, unable to keep it in any longer. "I know ya been sick a lot, but I didn't think ya lost brain cells over it. Are ya tryin' t' bleed t' death?"

'I was molested and attacked by a psychopathic inu-youkai, okay, is that what you want to hear?' she screamed in her head at him, but simply looked at the floor and seethed. It wasn't her fault that some people got upset over being told the truth: that they were a jerk. "Sorry, Heiji, I wasn't thinking…"

Her tone seemed to calm him down considerably and he slumped onto the edge of her bed beside her. "Geez, I saw it an' almost died of a heart attack or somethin'." Again they sat in silence, at least until Shizuka was heard screaming both their names for them to come eat. "Ya should put on a long sleeve blouse or somethin' if ya don't want pops askin' questions." Heiji offered.

More silence burned through the room. "Well, are ya gonna change?" Heiji questioned her.

She found the energy to glare at him. "With you in the room, you dork?" His face turned scarlet colored and he slammed out of the room with incredible speed. She changed into a long sleeve blouse and made her pained way down stairs to eat supper with her family.

"Hey, princess," Toshiro greeted her. She took her seat next to Heiji quietly and tilted her head in silent greeting. She could feel weariness almost oozing from her bones. Too much had happened, too quickly.

She wanted _sleep_.

* * *

**End.**


	12. Bad Wish

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Twelve

"Kagome, like it or not, I'm comin' in!" Heiji called and slammed the bedroom door open with a force that nearly made the door knob punch a hole in the wall. Kagome groaned and shoved her pillow over her head. She felt a little better with some decent sleep, but not by much considering she had a painful multitude of cuts ranging from the bottom of her foot where she stood in glass to her shoulder where the word pet had been inscribed using claws.

'Damn the morning people!' she thought bitterly, burying herself in her blankets. In her delusional non-wakefulness she was able to forget the insane youkai that was bound to follow her hither-thither. Heiji was cheerful in the mornings; Heiji was out of his mind in the mornings.

"Kagome, got lots t' do today!" He yanked her blankets off her pajama'd form.

Heiji was about to lose his head in the morning…

She pulled the pillow from her head to glare blearily at her brother. "What do you want?" she demanded, releasing herself into cozying up against her pillow. She was not getting out of bed until the sun was beneath the horizon; she was a night walker, a nocturnal creature, and Inuyasha-be-damned, Heiji and Inuyasha were identical in their 'Let's do stuff during the day, 'cause it's _so_ fun' attitudes.

"Ma's pressurin' me t' pick a school. Ya know th' place better'n I do, plus ya gotta pick one ya own self, so up!" He reached out for her pillow and pulled on it in an attempt to get it away from her. Unfortunately she clung to it like a lifeline.

"Talk to me when I'm awake, and give me my blankets back." She yawned, curling further against the pillow.

"I'll get some water t' toss on ya," he said.

"Then I'll be a suspect in the Hattori murder case. Imagine the headlines. You'd be famous; _Idiotic Brother Murdered by Sleepy Sister_." He laughed and went to her closet. She peered at him with one dark blue eye. She had absolutely no intention of getting off her bed, at least until she had to pee.

"Lesse…" He grabbed a random blouse and even more random skirt.

"Flowers do not match stripes, dork," she told him. 'What the hell was that golem thinking when it picked clothes to bring here? I haven't worn that skirt in years and that blouse looks like something Shizuka would wear.'

"Whatever," he muttered and tossed her clothes on the floor. He grabbed a different blouse and skirt. She rejected everything he took out and he tossed all the rejected items on the floor. 'Good thing that golem is dead, or I might have had to kill it for a lack in fashion sensibility,' Kagome mused drowsily.

"Bah! I give up. Ya pick ya own clothes!" he yelled.

She couldn't help but giggle. "I'm not going to get up. Haven't you realized that yet?"

He scrounged through the clothes on the floor, his face scrunched in determination and his tongue sticking out in concentration. He found a green blouse and a green skirt that matched in color and showed them to his sister, who peered at them with a lazy eye. "Flowers and stripes, Heiji."

He tapped his chin, then closed his eyes and reached out with both hands, pulling up an even more random match: two shirts. "Dang it, fine! Ya can wear my clothes." He stormed out of the room and seconds later came back with a black tee-shirt that would be entirely too large on her. He dug in her clothes and yanked up a black and dark green plaid skirt and tossed the clothes at her. "Stupid blouses, they suck anyhow." He muttered.

By then, she was awake and there was no avoiding it. He watched her sit up before nodding in satisfaction and leaving the room. She grabbed the clothes he offered her and glanced at them. He really was an incredibly odd dork. She pulled herself across the room and found a plain blue silk skirt and a plain white blouse. She dressed in those rather than her brother's strange fashion statement.

As she pulled on socks, she noticed the swelling in her ankle had gone down. She could almost walk on it without limping; if Heiji was going to drag her hither-thither she would want to use the crutches or else by the end of the day the swelling would be a hundred times worse. She wanted to contribute the seemingly fast healing to her miko power but she couldn't feel that inside her.

Heiji burst into her room just as she was pulling on her second sock, clearly having thought she went back to bed. She yawned and held her hand out to him in an obvious indication for assistance and his outburst died on his lips. He smiled. "Good thin' I moved up here. Ya gonna have guys swarmin' after ya."

She was too tired to feel embarrassed. "So what's first on today's agenda?" she asked him. He pulled her to her feet and led the way downstairs, her limping after him.

"Ma made a list o' th' schools she wants me t' visit, even though I know what school I wanna go t'." Heiji explained. They stopped for a moment by the second floor community bathroom so Kagome could grab the crutches.

"What school do you want to go to?"

"Teitan High."

Kagome sensed a grudge broiling beneath the surface of her brother's skin.

xXx

Inuyasha was up at the first sign of morning and dressed in the clothes Kagome's mom had provided for him. It was still very awkward to operate the buttons and he felt really stuffy in the clothing, but Kagome's mom had said it would help to dress up and give the examiners a good impression.

By the time the first knock came on Kagome's bedroom door, he was looking at his transformed self in the full length mirror. Last night, Kagome's mom had taken Inuyasha shopping for clothes, explaining that Souta needed new clothes and that since it was unknown when Inuyasha would be able to go back, he would need to be able to blend in.

He left the top button of the light blue dress shirt undone since it kept feeling like he was being choked and gave up on the tie (Kagome's mom showed him how to tie one, but it was a stupid hazard anyway). The black dress pants were a bit wrinkled but he figured no one would notice.

"Inuyasha, dear? I'm going to walk Souta to school but I'll be right back. Brush your hair again and tie it back." Kagome's mom said softly before walking away. He glared at the person in the mirror before grabbing Kagome's brush and yanking it through his hair. Kagome's mom spent several hours brushing his hair last night to get out the knots. He couldn't remember ever feeling so _welcome_ and _happy_ to be a part of something, and better still, Kagome's mom was enjoying this.

He rolled up the white bandana and used it to press his ears down to his head, since Kagome's mom said he wouldn't be able to wear a hat during the exam. It was surprising how fast Kagome's mom had set up the appointment for the exam, but apparently today was the last available time he had to take it otherwise he would have had to wait an entire month.

Once the bandana was secure, he used one of the thick bands Kagome's mom gave him to tie his hair back at the nape of his neck. The gold eyed, silver haired person staring back at him wasn't someone he recognized.

For the first time in his life, his world didn't seem to revolve around survival. Only limited members of Kagome's family knew what he was; no one was criticizing him for it. No one was throwing stones at him, and no one was afraid of him simply because he had youkai blood. No one blamed him, no one hated him, no one thought of him as disgusting.

And Kagome's mom seemed to like him.

He stretched in an attempt to relieve pressure building in his shoulders. The cloth was a bit big on him, but only because he insisted to have room to breathe. Having grown up in clothes too big for him, he would have suffocated in perfectly fitting shirts and pants.

He felt a grim smile cross his features. An identical one spread across his reflection.

_"Mother, am I handsome?" a very young Inuyasha asked his mother as he tried on the clothes his mother had made from the cloth of a fire rat to match the haori his father gave him at his birth. _

_She nodded with a serene smile on her face. "You're the handsomest of them all. When the world is right, you will have girls flocking after you…" _

_"But I don't want girls to do that. They all carry stones." _

_She sniffed slightly, wiping away a tear and hugged her son. "Just you wait and see… the world will right itself. Fate has a hand in all our lives. I'm sure fate has big plans for you, my sweet little boy…" _

"Well, I'm here, mother…" Inuyasha said to his reflection, hoping his mother would hear him in the afterlife. "Is this the big plan fate has for me? Has the world righted itself? Because those miko make me wonder if I would even survive on the other side."

He felt a comforting breeze floating in on the wind and wrap around him, almost like his mother were right there to embrace him. His mother was beside his reflection, but when he looked to his side, she was not there. He looked back at his reflection and she was still there, her arms around him.

He could feel her presence, but only see her in the mirror. _My boy, my sweet little boy…_ she sighed happily and he could hear her talking in his mind, not his ears. _This is what you begged me to give you… are you happy? _

"What are you talkin' about, mother?" Could this really be his mother? Was his mother really there? He was almost afraid to get his hopes up.

_You begged, 'Please let me through to Kagome… let me through… I would do anything to see Kagome again; I'd give anything!' _

Inuyasha felt his jaw drop and he whispered, "Are you th' well?"

_I am the entity inside it, yes. _

"But you're my mother…" He pulled himself out of the strange embrace, but continued staring at the reflection.

_I am the passage of life and death, the creator of time itself. I am the escort for the dead to the afterlife. I am many things; your mother among them. I did not come to argue what or who I am, child, but to make you embrace the new life I have given you. You agreed to give anything to see that girl again. I am here to tell you what I have taken from you. _

Damn, he knew he should never have let Kagome go through the well. All it resulted in was bad luck and more bad luck. And possibly future bad luck depending on what this creature wanted of him.

He felt a sigh burbling out of his throat and sat on Kagome's bed heavily. "What d'ya want?"

_It is not what I want that should be questioned, but what I have already taken from you. _Inuyasha scrounged his mind for anything he could be missing. Only Tetsusaiga came to mind. He hated to lose it, but supposed that wasn't a terrible trade. Kagome was far more important than his father's old, battered sword. His only concern was whether or not he'd end up angry in the future and go berserk without it.

His eyes shot to the reflection. It stared at him with the same sad look his mother always wore. He always hated to see that look on his mother's face. Why did the creature have to take his mother's form?

_You can never return to the world in which you were born. It is this that I have taken from you; your life on the other side of the well. You pleaded to be let through, claimed you would give anything to see 'Kagome' again. Your vengeance toward Naraku and the miko who sealed your friends, and the peaceful world where you know your place is what I wanted so it is what I have taken. _

"But the jewel, we have to finish it," Inuyasha insisted, although it was a weak plea.

_And finish it she will… but not on the other side of the well. I already told you what I have taken; it affects her as much as you. Next time you beg and wish, you will think ahead on the consequences. There are other entities like me who grant wishes, but not all are so kind as to appear and explain themselves. _

He gulped, taking those words to heart.

_Make the most of your new world; your new life; your new home._ The entity faded away from the mirror and he could feel when he was left by himself in the room again. He fiddled with the button on his sleeve to await the return of Kagome's mom, all the while thinking miserably of the words of the entity that had granted his plea at such a high expense.

'Stuck here, forever…' If he weren't afraid of besmirching his neat appearance, he might have curled up and cried. The world had finally been right, he realized. Before the miko sealed his friends, the world had been _right_. Shippou looked up to him, idolized him even. Kirara was tolerable—for a cat. Sango was a loyal friend and Miroku—though perverted—was a friend he could confide in if he ever got the guts up to do so. Even Sesshoumaru seemed to lose interest in trying to kill him.

He had found the world his mother had promised him and then gave it up for a wish he didn't think would be heard. How stupid of him!

xXx

"Ah, it's a beautiful day, Heiji." Kagome said with a smile as Heiji set down a tray of café food in front of them. It wasn't much more than bagels and a fruit smoothie to share, but it was still something.

"Ya see? Ya glad t' be up." Heiji insisted, even though she had yawned the entire walk to the café.

"Actually, I'm simply plotting an accident." She began spreading cream on her bagel, the short sleeves of her blouse making the bandaging on her self-inflicted wound (she lost her mind somewhere between the first and second encounter with futuristic Sesshoumaru) visible. She reminded herself that she needed to change not only that bandage but the one on her back.

"An accident? That'd be premeditation, Kagome," Heiji pointed out.

"And the accident involves a certain six-day older brother of mine. He's tall, spends a lot of time outdoors so he's rather tan, he's nearly rail thin, and absolutely adores getting up in the morning—almost like it were a sport of sorts. Know anyone like that?"

Heiji looked thoughtful. "What kind o' accident?"

"I haven't decided yet. Probably a very wet kind. Or cold, maybe."

"If I see 'em, I'll warn 'em about ya." Heiji laughed. He pulled out the packet of brochures his mother had given him to look at and set them on the table. Immediately Kagome's hands reached for them and she began looking at the specs of the schools. "That's ya old school," he said, indicating the first brochure. "Ya being expelled an' all, ya probably won't go there. Plus, with a murder an' all, they sendin' the students t' other schools an' that ones been closed down."

Kagome flipped to the next brochure and began flipping through it. "Was Shizuka intending to send you to an all-girls school?" Kagome asked, giggling at the thought of Heiji in a dress. He'd make a pretty girl.

"Ah, no. That ones for ya. So's th' other girl school. There's a couple boy schools too. Ma wants me t' go t' one o' th' boy schools, but my mind's made up already." She spent the duration of breakfast reading the brochures. Of course, picking a school was nothing to rush. The least amount of time she could spend on it was a week. After all, this was her future.

Inuyasha would be upset to know she was going to get back into school. Oh well, she'd deal with his anger as it came. Besides, the well was broken at the moment and so he wouldn't be able to do much complaining at all.

"Who is this?" she asked, pointing to a picture of a boy in one of the brochures. The caption read _Shin'ichi Kudo—Student at Teitan High_. That didn't explain why his photo was in the brochure.

"Aw, him? He's my rival, Shin'ichi Kudo. He solves all sorts o' mysteries that're brought t' th' police, most o' them murders. He also is th' greatest soccer player Teitan High's ever had." Heiji saw his moment to cut at his rival and seized it. "Kudo's a slacker, too! Never goes t' school, thinks he's a major hotshot, an' ignores his woman!"

She nearly choked on their shared smoothie. "Ah? You're just like _him_!" she said, accusing her brother. He only gave her an odd glance. 'Kouga, oh dear heavens what if Kouga is my brother reincarnate? I guess it'd explain how he always hit on me when we were little…'

"You feelin' okay, Kagome?" Hieji questioned. "I mean, if ya not up t' it, I can go t' th' schools by myself…"

* * *

**End.**


	13. Bad Consequences

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

Chapter Thirteen

Shin'ichi groaned as his mother-who-was-playing-his-aunt hugged him fervently. He hated these shows of affection. Especially in front of a coo'ing and delusional Ran, who once more spiked a fever this morning. "Ran, just go to bed!" he told her, but his child voice was muffled by the fact that his mother was crushing him to her bosom.

"Ah, Conan, you're such a sweet _little _boy, acting all _grown up_ and taking care of Ran when she's sick!" Yukiko Kudo giggled, practically strangling him. He could see the headlines now: Boy Narrowly Escaped Death by the Black Syndicate, only to be Killed by Woman's Breasts… It'd make an eye catching front page, and give him lots of publicity, that was for sure.

"Choking…" he wheezed, but his plea for air fell on deaf ears. 'Why is she even here?'

Ran smiled, "Conan, you look just like Shin'ichi right now," 'Perhaps because I am Shin'ichi, dear God don't let her figure that out while she's practically incapacitated, I've worked too hard to keep the secret from her…'

His mother finally released him and set him on the floor, smoothing his hair like he required it. He felt his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "Now, Conan, you take Ran by the hand and get her in bed for now. Your beloved aunt needs to talk to Mori!" Mori groaned and looked over at them; it was almost 'get drunk' time.

"Wha'da'ya want?" Mori demanded. Conan was grateful that Ran came as he pulled on her arm, and she took her pink-pajama-wearing body over to her bed and curled herself in. He got her medicine bottle and read the label once more before taking Ran's water glass into the kitchen to fill up.

Only moments after he'd managed to get Ran to take her medicine, she fell asleep as the part of the pill that was a sedative set in. He pulled the covers around Ran's shoulders.

"Shin'ichi…" Ran muttered in her sleep, and he stared at her. He wished he could do more for her, but what could he do? And even as he wished to do more for her, he had an inexplicable hatred growing inside his gut for her. The word 'abomination' came to mind.

Still, he knew he didn't _really_ hate her. She was Ran, and she would always _be_ Ran. The only thing he disliked about her was the fact that she could stand being around her girlfriend Sonoko Suzuki. As Shin'ichi, he could easily avoid Sonoko. As Conan he had much less luck.

He shook his head and slid off the side of the bed, walking into the living room just in time to hear his mother talking to Mori in a low, very serious tone of voice. "I'm very sure you've got a lot on your plate just now. If you don't want the case, that's fine; I'll just go find someone else."

"Then find someone else," Mori grumbled, "'cause I don't give a damn. It's just like you said, you argued and the kid ran off. He'll come home when he wants to! I remember when I was a boy I ran off all the time, now look at me." Yukiko winced and Shin'ichi wondered who ran off, especially at a time like this when murders were taking place all over the city.

"He's just a teenager, Mori! Did you ever run off when there was a serial murder on the loose?" Yukiko demanded.

"Well, no, but you said yourself you know where he goes when he runs off. Why not just go pick him up?" Mori turned to the piles of paperwork on his desk and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. "Besides, maybe he's waiting for you to come anyway? I know I wished a few times my parents would have cared enough to come find me, or worry a little."

"Fine, you win, Mori, but at least come with me, please?" Yukiko pleaded. "Do this for me and I won't tell Eri about your recent gripe about taking Ran to the hospital." Shin'ichi had to hand it to his mother; when she wanted to throw out good blackmail material, she did it with class.

Shin'ichi leaned against the arm of the couch, feeling weary. Up all night with Ran, up all day with Ran. If Kogoro weren't so loaded with work and bills, Shin'ichi wouldn't even manage the short naps he'd gotten in the past few days. 'Let's see… this is the fourth day she's been sick… or maybe the fifth? I can't remember…'

Mori grumbled about it but stood up. "Alright, alright. It's gonna be a while before I get a drink…" He looked longingly at his beer can and then went to put his shoes and coat on. Shin'ichi crawled up onto the couch and decided to use his time to nap.

xXx

Mama smiled as Inuyasha came out of the examination room back into the waiting room. While he had taken his test, she had gone shopping for him again but she wouldn't tell him that until later. She knew his measurements after last night, and though he protested the need of more than one outfit, she felt he'd do well in modern clothes.

Besides, he looked so handsome in his dress shirt and slacks. She watched him fiddle nervously with the button on his sleeve as they proceeded up to the counter where he would be able to receive a printed list of his scores. She hoped he wouldn't be disappointed. She personally thought he was a very smart boy.

"Here you go," the secretary handed over a simple piece of paper listed with the scores. He took it and glanced at it, then rolled his eyes as if thinking it useless. "Have a very nice day!"

Inuyasha handed the paper over to mama and she glanced at it, impressed in spite of herself. Reading, 100. Arithmetic, 100. Writing, 100. Beside writing, there was an additional comment from the examiners, Perfect Penmanship. Speech, 70. She decided to ask him about the speech score. It seemed odd next to three perfect scores.

"Inuyasha, dear, what happened during your speech exam?"

Inuyasha scoffed slightly. "The lady don't like th' way I talk an' she said I watched th' paper too much."

Mama nodded at that. Kagome was quite the opposite. She could deliver a powerful speech that motivated just about anyone, and if she really tried, she could make people believe things they never believed before. It was a skill of trickery and deception, and mama never encouraged it so she wasn't sure how it got there.

She continued looking at the scores. Cooking, 17. There was an additional comment: This boy should not be allowed in the kitchen. Oh dear, mama would have to teach Inuyasha how to use the stove if he was to survive. He seemed to realize the score her eyes had rested on and scoffed yet again.

"It's not my fault. They said to cook a soup of my choice and completely went nuts when I started a fire. I didn't know you humans make fire with a turn dial." He crossed his arms irritably while she attempted to hold back a strange force of giggles.

She looked further on the scores. History, 25. Additional commenting stated: He is very intelligent, but turned in most of the history exam blank. 'Oh no,' mama thought. 'There must have been very few questions on the feudal era.'

Science, 89. That one was surprising to mama. He saw her glance and pointed out, "All they had me do was create a potion. They gave me th' ingredients an' instructions and a fire. It ain't hard, but th' acrid smell almost made me pass out."

"Your over all score is still very great!" Mama cheered the slightly depressed boy. "A cumulative score of 501 should get any school to consider you. Would you still like to look at some school brochures?"

Inuyasha scratched the back of his neck. "I guess, it ain't like I'm doin' much else lately." She gave him a questioning look before shifting across the room to gather some of the brochures from the wall. He walked next to her on the trip back to the shrine. He'd be happy to get out of his nice clothes and back into his normal outfit.

They crested the stairs and found two people waiting in the courtyard. The minute the woman saw Inuyasha, she seemed overjoyed for some reason. She dashed across the courtyard and would have bowled Inuyasha straight down the stairs again as she threw herself at him if he didn't have such good reflexes. He caught himself and looked at the woman currently hugging him fervently, wondering if the entire world was insane.

"Inuyasha," she sobbed happily and he squirmed uneasily. 'Who the hell is this broad, and what does she want from me?'

The soft whisper laughed, _Enjoy your new life; your new home; your new world… _

He cursed himself for ever making such a moronic wish. This was undoubtedly a result of such stupid actions. 'Did you do this to me?' he asked the creature silently, glaring in the direction of the well.

"Stop running away! Oh, Inuyasha, you don't know how worried I've been." Kagome's mom looked confused.

_You did this to yourself, child._ It whispered to him. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it. _Your action had consequences; these are them. You have a new life, and to be honest, I will enjoy watching you._

He had a new _life_. What did this mean, exactly? "Who are you people?" Kagome's mom asked sternly.

The woman hanging onto Inuyasha stood up straight and wiped away tears; those were real tears. She said, "I'm Inuyasha's mother." She said, almost as if apologizing for her outburst. "My name is Yukiko Kudo. I know Inuyasha has come here quite a bit recently, and I do want to thank you for taking care of him."

* * *

**End.**


	14. Bad Gang

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

Chapter Fourteen

"His mother?" Mama looked at Inuyasha; they both knew it wasn't true.

Yukiko's male companion then spoke up, looking both perplexed and as though he'd struck gold. "This kid ain't Shin'ichi!"

"Of course not," Yukiko huffed, "Yusaku and I adopted Inuyasha four years ago. You were _there_, remember?"

Inuyasha looked helplessly at Kagome's mom, knowing already that what the woman said, she believed was the truth. The entity in the well was a powerful one and that power made shivers go up and down his back. It obviously altered this woman's memories. And it was very coincidental that 'four years ago he was adopted'. They hunted shards for four years.

"I don't remember you adopting anyone!" the man grumbled, "And I remember all my sober moments."

"Of which you can count on one hand, to be sure!" Yukiko snapped.

While the two argued, Inuyasha peeled himself away from the woman. Really he was more than uncomfortable letting Kagome hug him; as if he'd be comfortable letting some dumb broad from who-knew-where hug him! Thankfully the woman let him go. She giggled, "I'm sorry, sweetie," 'Don't you call me that!' his mind provided angrily. That was his mother's name for him. "I know you don't like public displays of affection."

The world was really mad. He should have never gone into the well. He should have waited for Kagome. It was becoming clear to him that Kagome would have returned eventually; he could have waited. After all, it wasn't like a sealed creature aged. They just simply _were_.

"Kudo-san, perhaps we could talk about this inside?" Kagome's mom offered, although she looked as confused as the man. Inuyasha supposed he'd have to explain things to Kagome's mom. After all, she was undoubtedly not psychic and wouldn't know he'd been visited by a creature that claimed to be 'many things, his mother among them'.

"We aren't here to stay and 'chat'," said the man. "I got work to get back to, so grab your supposed kid and let's go, Yukiko."

Inuyasha frowned and walked toward Kagome's mom, ignoring the man's obvious protests. He glanced back at the woman, who looked ready to start bawling again. "Ya might take tea or somethin' with Kagome's mom, 'cause I ain't ready t' leave yet." The woman was a good actor, he thought, as she attempted to hide the hurt she felt.

_Go with her, child. She will not bite._

'Are you going to haunt me for my whole damn life? Go back to your dark hole in the ground and stay there!' he yelled at the creature. He'd already figured he had to go with this woman, but he wasn't leaving without his clothes of the fire rat and Tetsusaiga's sheath.

_I am in my 'hole in the ground',_ the entity stated. _But my eyes are following you; you're the most interesting creature I've granted a wish for yet. You're intelligent, but incredibly dense. I like that._

'Great, it has a sense of humor and dishes out backhanded compliments.' But he wasn't bitter, oh no, he loved the wish he made. Especially after finding out that this creature was going to follow him around like a dog with a… he would not finish that thought. It fell silent after that and Kagome's mom let them into the shrine.

"Excuse the mess," Mama said as they entered the perfectly clean shrine. They went into the kitchen; two paper bags sat on the table filled with clothes. She went to move them, but Inuyasha was quicker to help. He took them off the table and set them on the floor. "I'll just put on some tea. Have a seat."

The man and woman seated themselves at the table and Inuyasha disappeared out of the room to go up to Kagome's bedroom. He took the bandana off when he got upstairs; with it flattening his ears to his head, noise was dimmed slightly, but he wanted to hear exactly what went on in the kitchen.

Kagome's mom was bustling around the kitchen to make tea; the silence was likely uncomfortable. Finally it sounded like Kagome's mom sat at the table, probably to wait for the tea kettle to whistle. "Oh, I'm sorry, I suppose we have not properly introduced ourselves," Kagome's mom said. "I am Ai Higurashi, mother to Inuyasha's friend Kagome…"

The man grumbled, "I'm Kogoro Mori." He sounded as if he didn't want to give out his name.

"Oh! You wouldn't happen to be the Great Detective Mori, would you?"

"Yeah that's me, but this new case I'm working on, not that it's any of your business or anything, but I have no leads except _long hair the color of moonshine, clothes as black as night, and eerie golden eyes colder than ice_. Now, just you tell me, what the hell color is moonshine, I ask you?" he responded, and by the time he was done speaking he sounded really annoyed.

'Silver, moron,' Inuyasha provided silently. 'Other than black clothes, it's an accurate description of my half-brother…' He sat on Kagome's bed, listening. Then he thought, 'And me…'

"I'm sure you'll solve the case." Kagome's mom said in assurance. "Now, I'm sorry for asking this, but would you please explain to me how you came to be here now? I mean, it does seem odd, you have to admit…"

Yukiko sighed deeply. "Inuyasha and I argued the other night. I'm just… traveling a lot, and Inuyasha said he didn't want to travel any more."

"Inuyasha is welcome here. He's a delight to have around." Kagome's mom said.

"No, no." Yukiko insisted. "Yusaku and I are going to stop traveling. We're going to stay at home."

"Great!" Kogoro Mori said, "You can take that brat off my hands!"

"He's not a brat!" Yukiko insisted. Then she calmed down. "Higurashi-san, I thank you for taking care of Inuyasha, but I am his mother and I insist he comes home."

Kagome's mom said, "I'll go talk to him."

"I should…" Yukiko started.

"Please wait here." He heard Kagome's mom pick up the bags from the floor and start walking up the stairs. He got up and opened the door before she even reached it and she entered and set the bags on the bed. "She said she's your mother," Kagome's mom started.

"I know," Inuyasha frowned. "She believes it too. I have t' go with her."

"You don't have to go," Kagome's mom said. "We both know it isn't true."

"Technically… it is," he scratched at one ear. She gently swatted his hand away so he wouldn't scratch and took the white bandana off the bed. She reached up to replace it carefully on his head. Almost like… a mom, he thought. Worry lines creased her eyes. "I made a… wish," he admitted. "Th' loss o' my life on th' other side o' th' well was th' price I had t' pay. I can't go back."

"Mama!" Souta's voice cried throughout the shrine. "There's people in our house!"

"Oh…" mama brushed his shoulders. "You're welcome here whenever you want." She reached inside the clothes bag and took out a small envelope. "Here," she handed it to him. He opened it and let the contents fall into his hand; it was a key. He said nothing; the trust she placed in him by giving him that key was _heartwarming_.

"And you'll take your clothes, won't you?" she dug in Kagome's closet, pulling out an empty bag like Kagome always wore on her back. "I think this should hold them all." Mama didn't quite like the way things seemed to be happening, but she wasn't going to stop it. He knew better than her on what was dangerous.

_It will be alright,_ she could have sworn she heard whispered.

She took the school brochures from where he set them on the bed and stuck them in the bag.

"You're set to go… oh, but do be careful." She fussed. "What should I tell Kagome if she calls?"

"Well, I donno," he scratched his head. "I guess ya can tell her I'll see her in school?" He'd already forgotten there was more than one school to go to. Mama nodded and Inuyasha hefted the bag of clothes and grabbed Tetsusaiga's sheath. It was more sentimentality that he brought it.

xXx

Street performers danced and played music. Bad things might be happening to the city—robberies, murders—but that didn't stop the city from thriving with life and happiness. Kagome smiled as she watched the performance out of her bedroom window. Heiji had decided on his school, but Kagome was taking her time—sweet time—on deciding.

She had so many options. Some of them were obviously out of the question, since the enrollment fee was more than her mother and father would ever make in a lifetime. Still, there were others.

She scratched the bandage on her arm. Though the deep cuts on her back that made the word _pet_ and the self-mutilation on her arm were scabbed and the bandages replaced, they were at a stage where all she wanted to do was scratch at them.

She sighed; it had been a full day since her second encounter with Sesshoumaru, and she still didn't know what he wanted.

'Well, at least there's been no sign of Sesshoumaru returning.' She thought.

She massaged her ankle; it really sucked not having her miko powers because her aches and pains took so long to heal. When she was little she could remember healing faster than normal people too. She couldn't feel the power there anymore. The training Kaede had been giving her had taught her to concentrate power in her hand. She couldn't do that now.

Shizuka knocked on Kagome's bedroom door. The girl looked at her step-mother. "Yes?"

"I'm going to Teitan High School to enroll Heiji. Lock the doors if you go out." The woman stated.

Kagome nodded. Heiji insisted she didn't leave the house without someone with her, but that wouldn't stop her. She was probably stupid for thinking it, but she took pride in her training with Inuyasha. She might not have her miko power, but that was why Inuyasha was training her: in case her miko power ever failed.

She dressed in a tan tee-shirt and blue jean-shorts once Shizuka had left her and pulled on her knee-high stockings. She might not be strong enough to beat Inuyasha, and definitely wasn't strong enough to beat Sesshoumaru using Inuyasha's training, but an ordinary old human she had a chance against. After all, Kagome almost beat Miroku in an almost-fair fight.

Really, it wasn't fair of him to pull out his secret weapon: his cursed hand. Oh, he hadn't removed the rosary and tried to suck her up or anything. No, instead he threw her off by massaging her bottom. Inuyasha had ended that sparring session by knocking Miroku out with a single blow. Inuyasha had been pretty mad saying Miroku's trickery was awful and dishonest but it made her feel good to know he was protecting her.

She grabbed her crutches, picked up Heiji's keys (he'd only walked her as far as the corner) and walked out of the room. Of course, the tours with Heiji through the schools had come to an abrupt end this afternoon as Heiji got a call from someone. She wondered what the problem was; Heiji had been in quite a hurry as he left.

Down the hall, through the door, down the hall, round the corner, down the hall, down the stairs, stop by the front door to put on shoes. They'd passed a park on their way back, and she'd rather be in a public place than alone in a house if she could avoid it.

She greeted the neighbor kids who were playing in the small yard in front of their parents' house. She got the feeling that she'd end up knowing them by name soon. For a moment, she watched them wrestling playfully. The oldest couldn't be more than ten years old, but he was mindful of the others and if there was a problem, he was right there to resolve it.

Kagome made her way toward the park and just like she'd thought earlier, she found the park abnormally empty. It was dominated by older kids who looked more like gang members, and there she was, the cute picture of innocence in short-shorts and a tee-shirt and leaning on crutches.

Still, she'd met youkai thousands of times scarier than a bunch of gang kids. She'd faced down youkai sometimes alone and sometimes with the others. She was pretty sure a petty gang of humans was inconsequential. She walked over to the empty swing set and dropped her crutches in the sand before limping to the closest swing and sitting down on it.

'I could just go back to the shrine now,' she thought as she pushed herself with her good foot. 'Of course, with the well broken, what would I do? Besides, dad likes me here, and Shizuka is being tolerable for my twisted ankle and giving me petty stationary chores like dishes. And Heiji's fun, for all he's a big dork.'

She sighed as she thought about the other side of the well and looked up to watch the clouds. What would Shippou be doing at that very moment? Would he be complaining about his box of crayons being eaten by Kirara? She had decided that wax was tasty even though it constantly gave her indigestion.

She knew what Miroku would be doing. She could picture him being chased by stick wielding women who had been offended. The image made her smile. And of course, Sango would be wielding the longest, thickest stick. He'd get a good hiding spot, and the women would then pretend to give up their chase—at least until he came back into the village. Poor Miroku, he never knew when to give up.

She'd sat there for almost twenty minutes before shadows fell on her and blocked most of the sun; she could tell by the sound of movement that people had surrounded her. Her eyes left the clouds to fall on the face of who stood in front of her. He attempted a menacing glare; Sesshoumaru was _way_ scarier. She simply smiled.

'I must be mad,' she thought.

* * *

**End.**


	15. Bad Fight

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

Chapter Fifteen

Kagome said cheerfully, "Hello!" She loved acting like she had a bubble for a brain; it was a hobby of hers and it really tickled her pink to act that way. "Did you want to play?" 'Yeah, let's play and I'll kick all your butts!' she thought violently. Of course, with so many, she might have a little bit of trouble, but she was an optimist, usually.

"Yeah, we wanted to play." The boy speaking appeared to be the leader of the six boys. "But not with you. You're in our territory."

She smiled as if the words went in one ear and out the other. The phrase, "Black haired blond" came to her mind. "But I like playing games. Mama always said I'm good at Tag."

The boys laughed at her. "But we saw you limping and you're on crutches. We win by default."

She reached up and grabbed the chains of the swing to pull herself up to her feet without having to rest weight on her twisted ankle. Sure, the swelling went down but that didn't mean it couldn't come back. "Aw, you boys aren't fair judging a poor girl like me without giving me a shot."

She watched the lead boy; he glanced behind her and nodded just slightly. She'd been involved with gangs from her time before. She hadn't been in them, of course, but she and Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi had landed in trouble a few times in junior high so she knew to watch the leader; subordinates took their lead from the leader.

It was the same way in the feudal era. The leader was the scariest and the one to watch. He was the toughest. He was generally the smartest (although she was witness to situations where it wasn't certain exactly _who_ in the enemy group was the smartest).

"Well," the leader started, "let's play a game. One of our favorite games: Monster."

"Monster?" she let out a giggle as she heard footsteps sneaking up behind her. Then the boy behind her went to grab her; she could see his shadow out of the corner of her eye. Bad for him, good for her. She used the placement of the sun and the shadow to her advantage and—_Never show your back to the enemy!_ Inuyasha's words rang in her mind—stepped to the side taking the swing with her. She kicked out with her good foot, using the swing chain to help ease the pressure on her bad foot, and tripped the boy.

"I always did like the game." Kagome cheered as if nothing had happened. The leader looked slightly dumbfounded. 'But I never liked bullies.'

The leader growled in an animalistic fashion. "You come to our park to play? Then fine!" As if that was their cue, the others came at Kagome and she couldn't help but think, 'Finally, a real chance to test out Inuyasha's training.'

There wasn't time for words. She pulled out everything she had learned, which given the fact that her sensei was a hanyou with a desire to be the strongest person in the world, seemed to be quite a lot. Inuyasha hadn't taken it easy on Kagome during her training; she hadn't been getting the lessons from him for long, but he definitely gave a lesson that stuck.

She quickly realized that with so many opponents, she would have to ignore her ankle's protests and simply go at it. Her body quickly felt pounded, but she kept rolling to her feet and once she started ignoring her ankle, she started doing a lot better.

The fight began moving away from the swings; she noticed the leader was letting his six subordinates do the work for him. He simply stood back and watched. She moved the fight to the play castle and there was able to fight them on a narrower space between the rails of the wobbly metal bridge. She felt a smirk cross her features. The fight was definitely turning in her direction.

One by one, she fought them, but then they came at her from behind.

xXx

"Where are we going?" Inuyasha asked his apparent new mother. He didn't enjoy the idea of her being his mother—he had a mother. She may be dead by that time, but she was still his mother even if she was dead. But as the stupid creature kept pointing out, he did wish for this life.

"Why, home of course!" Yukiko said cheerfully, turning her head to peer into the backseat of the old beaten up car. "But first, we'll just stop at Kogoro's place. We can walk the rest of the way home from there."

Kogoro snorted heavily through his nose. He was upset because he couldn't smoke; Yukiko had specifically stated he couldn't smoke around Inuyasha because Inuyasha was allergic to tobacco. It was a severe untruth, of course, and Inuyasha knew it. He'd been around many people who smoked their tobacco pipes. The scent was disgusting and nauseating, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

Inuyasha was grateful to finally get out of the car and on steady ground again. Being inside the belly of a man-made demon that rumbled, popped, and shuddered on its own wasn't anything he wanted to make a hobby of. He supposed that must have been how Kagome felt the first time he carried her on his back (she'd screamed and clung to him as though she would fall). Kagome was probably used to these metal contraptions.

"Come on up, Inuyasha. I just want to see Conan for a minute." Yukiko followed Kogoro up a set of stairs; Inuyasha grudgingly followed. His nose was instantly assaulted by the scent of sickness. Two people—boys—sat slumped on a couch. They looked exhausted, but peeled their eyes open when the door opened and Kogoro entered.

"Damn. More brats," Kogoro muttered. "No one makes a noise!" No one was making any noise to begin with. He marched over to a desk and sat at it, popping open a can. Inuyasha could smell the scent of alcohol coming from the can.

"Conan, sweetie!" Yukiko said cheerfully; instantly the small boy—Inuyasha thought he looked no bigger than Shippou, but he had adult eyes—shot up. Yukiko was fast for a human, and caught the boy, hugging him to her bosom. Inuyasha pitied the boy.

"Gak, choking, dying…" the boy wheezed. The taller boy's eyes came to rest on Inuyasha and he had a suspicious look to him, almost like he was sizing Inuyasha up. Inuyasha was pretty sure he could take the human on; if he wanted to go at it, then fine.

"Conan, I don't believe you've ever met your _cousin_ Inuyasha, have you?" Yukiko asked, turning the boy in her arms. Inuyasha wasn't really interested in the spectacled brat. He began eyeing the place with curiosity. There were strange contraptions all over the place just like at Kagome's.

The boy, Conan, fell silent. "Cousin, huh?" he asked. Inuyasha walked over to a picture hanging on a wall of a young girl. The strange, futuristic gloss texture of the painting still amazed him though Kagome had shown him hundreds of pictures like that.

"Inuyasha, this is Conan Edogawa, your cousin." Yukiko smiled.

Inuyasha glanced at the boy for a moment, then at Yukiko. Yukiko seemed to be expecting some sort of response from him. "I ain't in no way related t' that kid." he told Yukiko.

Yukiko sighed. "Inuyasha," she began.

He wasn't going to let Yukiko continue believing she was his mother either. Kagome had once explained that sometimes people were adopted into other families in her world; then fine. He was _adopted_ but that by no means made him her son.

"An' ya ain't my mother, either. My mother's been dead a long time. I ain't gonna disrespect her memory by callin' ya my mother." Silence reigned for a very long time, and then the boy Conan asked to speak to his aunt outside in private. They left. Inuyasha found he was being stared at by the second boy; Kogoro was already popping open a second can of ale.

xXx

"What the hell is going on?" Shin'ichi demanded of his mother. "That guy looks just like the description of the thief! And I'm an only child!" It was more than disturbing after nineteen years to suddenly have some brat shoved into his life, claiming to be his brother. The guy didn't even remotely look like Shin'ichi or his parents.

Shin'ichi's mother pouted slightly. "Yusaku and I adopted him four years ago. We wrote to you…" Shin'ichi could barely believe he was hearing it from her. They _sent a letter_? The proper thing would have been to introduce the two immediately, wouldn't it?

"Never got a letter." He grumbled. He'd never even had a hint of this guy. And who had gold eyes and silver hair anyway? It really did point the finger at the thief who had robbed hundreds of people recently.

"And he's not a thief. He was traveling with us all but the past few days."

That didn't make him innocent. This 'Inuyasha' character… Shin'ichi was going to keep an eye on him. One misstep and Shin'ichi would be the jailor. "He sounds like a bastard."

"Don't say that to him." Yukiko warned. "He lost his family in an accident, so it's a sore point to him." Shin'ichi glared up at the woman he'd always called mother. For some reason, he had a hollow feeling. "Oh, by the way, darling. You're coming home. Yusaku and I won't be traveling anymore."

He went to open his mouth and argue but Yukiko would hear none of it. She grabbed his ear and pinched it hard. "Ow, ow, ow!" Humbled.

"You're coming home, right?" she demanded.

"Yes, yes!" Whipped. His ear hurt so much.

"Wonderful." She released him and scooped him up for a hug. They went inside to collect the apparent new brother that Shin'ichi had, but Shin'ichi was regretting his agreement. What about Ran? Who would take care of her?

They entered just in time to hear Heiji say, "Hospital?" into his phone, in a rather panicked voice. "Okay, I'm goin' there." Heiji hung up his cell phone and looked at Shin'ichi. "Ran's out like a light, an' I gotta go. Sissy's in th' hospital." He gave no more explanation than that before taking off.

Shin'ichi blinked for a moment. 'So his sister really is Kagome the Sick…' he thought.

"Inuyasha, darling," Yukiko said. "We can go home now." She had such a bright smile on her face, Shin'ichi wondered how Inuyasha could look so blank. It was as if Inuyasha had something to hide. Shin'ichi was definitely going to be keeping an eye on Inuyasha.

Shin'ichi already didn't like Inuyasha. There was something that whispered inside him, 'abomination'. There was something about Inuyasha that was disgusting, completely aside from the fact that Inuyasha looked like the thief's description. He was going to find out what that was.

"At least let me check on Ran." Shin'ichi said. His mother set him down and he trotted over to Ran's room. She still appeared to be suffering. She'd woken up that afternoon screaming, and Shin'ichi couldn't restrain her by himself so he'd had to find Heiji's phone number to call for his help.

He kissed Ran's cheek, and then called himself insane for doing it. It served no purpose. "Shin'ichi," she muttered in her sleep. But he decided he wasn't going to let her continue to suffer, and knew she needed help. He also knew where to find that help, though it would be at the expense of Kogoro's sanity. Well, he never did like Kogoro anyway.

He went into the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing up Ran's mother Eri. It didn't take much for him to convince the lawyer she needed to come. Finally he supposed he was ready to go—if only because his mother threatened to drag him by his ear.

He went into the living room and looked at Inuyasha. Actually he was more or less glaring.

Kogoro hiccupped, "Hey, brat." He looked at Shin'ichi with a glare. "Ya isn't comin' back. Take ya crap with ya."

Shin'ichi was just tired. He just wanted to go to bed. He was now glad he called Eri. She'd really pinch Kogoro into some semblance of a human being. Shin'ichi went back into Ran's room and started grabbing his things and stuffing them into his backpack. He grabbed his stupid (elementary) school books, made sure he had all the things that the Doctor had given him, and then went once more into the living room, shouldering a backpack that threatened to tip his tiny body over.

"Cousin Inuyasha?" he asked in his cutest impression of a child's voice. He opened his eyes wide and innocent as Inuyasha looked down at him suspiciously. He pointed to the skateboard on top of the television. "Will you get my skateboard?"

Inuyasha shifted the empty sword sheath into the hand that held his backpack, then reached up and grabbed the item. "Ya look tired, kid. Ya should sleep more."

Shin'ichi glared at his mother. 'I probably won't get any sleep for the next couple decades.' He thought. 'Now that mom brought some suspicious guy into the house…'

"Come along, darlings!" Yukiko chirped.

Both Inuyasha and Shin'ichi sighed.

xXx

Kagome was in pain, but she still stood up on weak legs. 'Damn,' she thought. She'd bitten off more than she could chew with these guys. And their stupid leader brat just stood back there smirking.

They'd thrown her over the rail of the bridge. She spat blood and got ready for a second round. She could take whatever they dished out. They came at her, fists raised, and she did her best to block them.

'And all this simply because I was on the swings,' she thought grimly. She hated bullies. She got a hold of one of them and smashed her foot as hard as she could into their crotch. She wasn't playing anymore. This was for keeps.

She pulled back and shoved her pained captive into one of his companions. They both went down. Then she saw something that made her unable to continue fighting. She fell backward on her behind and her assailants took the opportunity to begin kicking her ruthlessly.

She watched the man in black move closer to her, his silver hair blowing gently in the wind. His eyes were locked with hers and all she saw was cold inside them. And then her assailants saw him and took off running, leaving her behind.

That dark man came closer. He reached a slender hand down to her, and the frightened half of her reached out to accept his hand, knowing very well if she didn't then something much worse would happen.

"Ah, my _pet_." He said cruelly, his voice but a whisper in her ear. "It must kill you that Inuyasha is dead…" His words were like a spear forcing its way through her. _What happened?_ "No one will come to your rescue…"

"Inuyasha isn't dead," she insisted. She'd seen him just yesterday morning. Besides, he was too stubborn to die. People shoved their hands through his insides and he still was okay in a couple of days. There was no way Inuyasha was dead.

"Your sibling… what was his name? Heiji?" Kagome's blood felt like it had turned to ice cubes when Heiji's name fell from those disgustingly perfect lips. "I sent him on a wild goose chase. My master's subordinates will be picking him up… very soon."

"What do you want from me and my family?" she shouted at him, yanking her hand out of his grip.

"I'm going to use your family as collateral for your cooperation." She didn't stay to hear any more.

"You're disgusting!" she snapped before taking off. It hurt to run but she had to find Heiji.

* * *

**End.**


	16. Bad Ramen

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Sixteen

Kagome's blood boiled with fury as she raced down the street intent on her dad's new home. With any hope, Heiji had already returned. Her ankle throbbed as she ran and several times had nearly given out underneath her.

Even though her dad's house wasn't very far from the park, it felt like miles had been tread before she finally scrambled up the stairs. The door was unlocked, and she burst in, startling Shizuka who had apparently just returned from shopping not a moment earlier.

"Is Heiji here?" she demanded in a panicked and high pitched voice. With a look of surprise, Shizuka gathered her motherly-wits about her and realized something was wrong with the picture before her. Shizuka and Kagome may not have been the best of friends, but Shizuka was still a mother, and Kagome was still her step-daughter and she loved the girl like her own.

It was out of this love that Shizuka was so strict with Kagome, wanting for nothing more than Kagome to grow up a proper young lady, though the influence of her once-friend Ai's shrine had probably not done her a whole lot of good. It was probably sheer luck that Kagome was not spouting a bunch of nonsense about demons existing like her grandfather liked to do.

"No, I don't think he is, Kagome," Shizuka said firmly, setting her grocery bag on the mail table in the entry hall to turn to her step-daughter fully. Kagome leaned on her knees, one hand hugging her stomach as if she'd just run a mile in a minute. "What's going on? What's this about?"

"Can you, huff, reach, huff, Heiji?" Kagome tried to take deep calming breaths in and out, just like Kaede had taught her to do for meditation, though every breath in ended up bringing with it Heiji's name being spoken by the evil Sesshoumaru, and every breath out resulted in the knowledge of how easily Sesshoumaru killed, maimed, and tortured.

"What's this about, Kagome?" Shizuka repeated.

"It's really important," Kagome insisted, though without explaining to Shizuka how she was sort of in contact with a could-be killer, Kagome wasn't sure she could get her point across. "Please, just call Heiji's cell, I know he has one and he took it with him!"

Shizuka rolled her eyes but took her time as she turned to her purse and pulled out her cell phone. The house phone hadn't been set up yet, but even if it were, Shizuka hadn't memorized her son's phone number since they'd changed phone numbers a few days ago.

She dialed Heiji up and then was about to put the phone to her ear but Kagome eagerly snatched the phone away and listened to the ringing. She didn't waste her time breathing sighs of relief, but rather just screamed into the phone, _"Stop where you are!"_

She could hear Heiji's confusion in his voice. "Huh? Ma, what ya yellin' at me for?"

Kagome explained, "It's me, Kagome! Don't move a muscle from where you are! Where are you? Tell me where you are!" She needed to save him from her silent stalker. Who knows what he wanted her to do using her _family_ as leverage?

Shizuka took a step closer to Kagome. "Kagome, dear, are you alright? You're all bruised and bleeding," she'd finally taken note of Kagome's injuries. A cut on Kagome's brow bled profusely into Kagome's left eye, causing her to swipe at it in annoyance. She had a fat lip and her right eye was puffy. Aside from that, she was covered in scuff marks as if she'd been ganged up on.

"I'm on the way to the hospital, t' see you, o' course." Heiji stated, as if it should be obvious.

"I'm not at the hospital!" she lost the battle to stand and slumped against the wall, sliding down it until she was sitting. "Heiji, I'm at home!"

"At home? But, I just received a call that ya was in th' hospital!" he sounded more confused than earlier, although she wasn't sure how that was even possible.

"Just tell me, where are you?" The past days' events were getting to her in a serious way. She didn't like it. Sesshoumaru was just awful.

"I'm at th' corner o' Eighth Street an' Carper Street, why? If yeh're at home, I'll jus' come home."

Kagome looked at Shizuka, "I'm going to borrow your phone!" She groaned as she pulled herself to her feet and before Shizuka could call her back she had run out of the house, nearly tripping down the front stairs. She raced past the neighbor kids, headed for where she knew Eighth Street to be from her current location.

"What's ya undies in a bundle for, Kagome?" Heiji asked.

"I'll explain it when I see you," that gave her suitable time to think of a good lie. "Stay where you are, don't let anyone see you!" She continued for Eighth street. "Talk to me, Heiji, I need to hear your voice," she requested.

"Okay, bu' ya gonna need a big explainin' a'fore bed t'night," he groused. "Uh, lesse, I donno, what ya wanna talk about?"

"Anything! Just talk, I need to know you're still there!" She nearly fainted as she landed on her bad ankle as she half-ran, half-stumbled. Sesshoumaru had something planned. It was something evil. Or his master did, though it still escaped her as to why Sesshoumaru would have a master now.

Kagome growled enough that even Inuyasha would be proud of her, she was sure. The phone had chosen that precise moment for the battery to die. She raced toward Eighth Street, feeling eyes on her all the while but unable to stop and observe who she knew the eyes would belong to.

She would prove her silent stalker wrong. He wouldn't get her brother. She wouldn't let him get that leverage he seemed to think would bring. Eighth Street came crashing into view and she shoved people aside as the sidewalk was more crowded now that she was on a main stretch.

She pulled to a brief halt only long enough to scrounge her memory for where Carper Street was in light of her current location, and then, panting, took off running again. She saw her brother, and screamed as she threw herself into his arms, the cell phone dropping to the ground as she clung to her brother. Tears, hot and moist, slipped down her cheeks.

His arms wrapped around her securely and he felt her tiny form trembling. What was wrong with her? And what was with that phone call, directing him to the hospital? And why was she beaten to a bloody pulp? His mother would have a righteous fit when she saw the blood on his clothes.

"Kagome," he said, pulling her out of the middle of the sidewalk, ignoring his mother's discarded phone for the more important girl in his arms. He had to brace himself firmly as her legs seemed to give way under her, leaving him to support the majority of her weight.

"Thank heavens…" she heaved in relief, "I thought for sure I had lost you…" If Sesshoumaru thought he could control her this way, he would be wrong indeed. She wouldn't let him control her. She couldn't let him control her. He may have carved 'pet' into her back, but that by no means made her his pet.

"I ain't goin' no where," Heiji stated firmly. He hoped to sooth her fears, even though he had no idea where this had spouted from, nor did he know where she got so beaten up. It bothered her. "I ain't goin' no where…" he ran a hand through her long black tresses even as couples walked by smiling at them. The implications of those looks were foolish to even think of.

"I want to take everyone to a world where it's safe…" She breathed, sounding exhausted. He realized then what it was about. She must have heard about the serial killer on the news, or something equally horrible. She panicked when he wasn't there and that's what was causing the reaction. That had to be it.

"Shh," he hushed her, still running his hand through her hair as she cried. He wanted to protect her from the world, to shelter her from the cruelties of reality, never realizing that he was the sheltered one… protected by her. She had seen things that would make even the hardest of veterans cringe in sympathy. War, famine, poverty, plague… she'd walked through it all.

And now she had yet another lie to make up… to protect him from what the world truly was. Someday, she could tell them all someday… but that day was long into the future, after her quest for the jewel was complete—if she could complete it that was.

She wasn't sure she'd get to, what with death impending and the well seemingly sealed and all…

xXx

His blood burned in betrayal as he paced his new chambers. Sesshoumaru… he'd smelled his brother's distinctive scent on their short walk to the large home they would reside in. Sesshoumaru's scent had changed over the years, but it was too close to home for Inuyasha to be still, and after arriving at the new house, Yukiko had ordered the young boy Conan to show Inuyasha to a room that would be suitable for Inuyasha.

Apparently Yusaku had much to discuss with Yukiko—alone. Behind closed doors where ears were not supposed to be. Inuyasha knew very well the nosy boy Conan was down on the main floor poking his nose around a keyhole, whereas he was two floors up and could still hear perfectly well what Yusaku and Yukiko were talking about.

Finances. Inuyasha. The estate. Inuyasha. Retirement from acting. And Inuyasha. Those were a few topics on the adult's agendas. He paid them no mind, instead adjusting the bandana on his head more securely. He would not let Kagome down. Sesshoumaru had locked her away to die, and that knowledge came back full force the instant he smelled his brother's sorry corpse.

"Damn, the guy should learn to leave what's mine alone!" he groused as he walked to one of his many windows. This one was a pretty neat window. It had a cushioned, trapezoid-shaped seat in it and seemed to jut right out of the structure of the building. It was fairly sized, too. He'd determined already that the bed was too dusty, and just sitting on it sent him into a fit of sneezes, so the window seat was going to be his bed.

Besides, it was as close as he'd probably get to a tree-branch, and he was feeling home-sick. The memory of his stupid wish would haunt him forever. He'd taken Kagome away from everyone, when she could have saved them. She'd taken _them_ away from _her_ as well. She'd hate him.

He flipped the latch up on the window and pushed it open, just as Kagome had taught him to do. The breeze caressed his face, and yet he felt trapped. He felt almost as if the walls were closing in on him. But he forced himself to stay put, sitting cross-legged on the window seat, his arms folded over his chest, causing wrinkles in his blue dress shirt and even more in his black dress pants.

The bag of things Kagome's mom had given him lay discarded on the dusty bed spread. Tetsusaiga's sheath was carefully placed on the bare desktop. His amber eyes, hardened with betrayal at the knowledge of what his brother had done to Kagome, watched the out-of-doors, hoping to catch a glimpse of silver hair, or golden eyes.

It wasn't going to happen. Even if he did, could he risk a confrontation with Sesshoumaru? The more times he went into berserk mode, the less likely he would ever be able to retreat from that mode and be normal again. It was an inner beast that lay caged in wait, wanting to spring forth from the depths of his soul. It wanted to kill. That was its only passion.

Without Tetsusaiga, how would he ever calm his raging blood? Kagome had managed it, but even to some extent, she would end up powerless. She would try effortlessly and get herself hurt. He didn't want that.

Back straight, his long silver hair swaying behind him as though it were trailing behind a ghost, he simply stared. If he could get Tetsusaiga, then perhaps the world would be safe—at least until Kagome managed to find wherever the last jewel shards were in her world and complete the jewel.

The world would be safe from him if he could turn youkai, and the Shikon no Tama would allow him to do that. He could make his wish. Then that damn 'entity' or whatever the hell she had been could leave him alone.

He heard the door shift open so quietly human ears would never have detected it. Those soft footfalls were too light to be an adult's, so he assumed it was Conan attempting to sneak up on him. He waited, biding his time until Conan was directly behind him, and then reached back. Grabbing Conan by the back collar of his shirt, he easily lifted the tiny boy until the two of them could look one another in the eye.

"Cousin! What are you doing?" The boy giggled, though it still bothered Inuyasha to feel the aura of an already mature human rather than the innocent aura of a child. There was something this boy was hiding. Scratch that… the very walls of the house spoke tales of untold secrets—it wasn't just the boy.

"I'm thinkin', what'd'ya think I'm doin'?" Inuyasha asked, setting the boy down beside him on the seat. Now that the kid was in there, he'd have to keep his noisy out-loud musings to himself, not that he ever thought aloud of course. The boy attempted to imitate his pose with overdone effort, further setting Inuyasha's 'warning' senses off.

Kagome had once joked that Inuyasha had an uncanny spider sense, though he to that day didn't understand what she was talking about. If anyone should have spider senses, it would be Naraku.

"Aunt and Uncle are talking about you!" the boy chirped happily as if it weren't supposed to be a secret.

Shin'ichi grumbled internally as Inuyasha simply shrugged off his parent's talking as if he didn't really care either way. He was hoping to get Inuyasha to do something that could either prove or disprove his suspicions. So far, Inuyasha had the look of a thief, and matched the thief's description.

Now, if Shin'ichi were Kogoro, that would be warrant for arrest. Of course, Shin'ichi liked to be sure he put the right person behind bars the first time. Silence stretched, and Shin'ichi contemplated the mysterious figure beside him. He was strong, having lifted Shin'ichi in his Conan form as easily as if he were a kerchief of silk and held him at eye level for almost a minute.

It had taken all his effort not to squirm and demand his shortness be set down immediately. Instead, he managed to plaster an innocent smile on his face and keep still. He'd been afraid that the mysterious Inuyasha could drop him out the open window, but he hadn't done that. He simply sighed and set Shin'ichi's elementary form beside him on the seat.

"Hey, kid," Inuyasha said suddenly, distracting Shin'ichi from his musings. Shin'ichi looked as Inuyasha pointed down to the driveway where Yusaku and Yukiko were preparing to get into one of those man-made metal demons Kagome called Cahrrs. "I think they're leaving."

Shin'ichi snorted heavily, momentarily forgetting the Conan persona. "That's nothing new." He peered out the window and yelled down at the two, "See you next _year_!"

Yukiko's eyes looked up at Shin'ichi and she waved. "There's a message for you in the library! Behave and listen to what Inuyasha tells you!" Then they were driving away to do whatever it was they were off to do. Shin'ichi growled lowly and received a curious look from Inuyasha for it.

So now they got him being baby-sat? Was he a grown man of nineteen or not? Well, maybe not physically, but it had been nineteen years since his date of birth. And if they really trusted this Inuyasha guy, wouldn't they tell him who Shin'ichi was? Unless of course they didn't think it was their secret to tell.

"Hey, kid," Inuyasha began, but Shin'ichi smiled a bright, forced smile and interrupted, "Conan! My name is Conan Edogawa!" He couldn't wait to get his normal body back. Not only was the small body hindering, but he couldn't even act like himself.

"Yeah, whatever." Inuyasha said gruffly. What was it about people in Kagome's world that made them obsess over whether or not they were called their proper name? Shippou never minded being called 'kitsune' or anything like that. He only got offended when he was called 'brat' or something offending. And Kagome had said that 'kid' in her world equated to 'child' in his and only goat farmers saw any other meaning for the word.

Inuyasha continued on before the boy could find reason to be offended at his gruff tone. "Anyway, would you show me around? I ain't never been here before."

Shin'ichi nodded and scrabbled to his feet, then jumped off the seat to the floor. "Sure, cousin! Aunt Yukiko said you were traveling a lot with her lately, and you never got the chance to come home!"

Inuyasha snorted heavily. Yeah, that was one way to put it. 'Traveling' indeed. He left the window open so the musty room could air out and followed the strange young boy. The house was very large. It had four floors to it, and Inuyasha guessed at least a hundred rooms, though he stopped counting at thirty. It was more of a castle to Inuyasha, surrounded by a large iron fence.

The boy ticked off uses for each room, and Inuyasha tried to remember what each one was for though he knew by early evening he would have forgotten. There were large rooms, small rooms, rooms filled for storage, rooms for closets, empty rooms… the place seemed to have everything.

The boy showed Inuyasha where the kitchen was, and then eventually they made it to a large library filled with books. There was a desk in the room with a mysterious thin black object on it, and just to the side of that was a piece of parchment. The boy climbed up on the desk chair so he could peer at the parchment.

Inuyasha sighed as his nerves continued to tense. He really needed to work off some steam, and standing around wasn't doing anything. He turned and left the boy in the library, knowing his absence was unnoticed as of yet. Upstairs, in his room he took out his fire rat clothes, and a fresh loincloth that Kagome's mom got him. They were weird loincloths, looking like what Kagome called 'shorts', and there was a hole in the front as if the seamstress who made it forgot to sew the cloth together.

But either way, he liked them better than loincloths from his world. They were less confining. He didn't mind if the seamstress, whoever she had been, had forgotten to finish the ones that Kagome's mom had grabbed, since he didn't really notice the hole anyway.

Within moments, he had changed into his usual attire, and a second later he jumped out of his open window and landed in a crouch on the ground, just in front of the bushes surrounding the house. The shiny black shoes Kagome's mom had him wear were at the front door of the house, and he'd left the things she'd called 'socks' in his room.

For a few moments, he stalked the ground, searching for the best location to practice his hand-to-hand combat. He needed to release some aggression before his mind filled with only rage. When he'd found the best place, he began with some simple moves—punches and kicks were the first thing Sesshoumaru had ingrained into his mind before his mother's death.

It had actually been a very long time since Inuyasha had time to practice, or required the need, the last time he practiced had been when Kagome went back to the well the first few times. In his world, if he wanted to fight, he simply had to go look for it. He could usually find it in short effort too. And with Kagome, he only had to sit there and let the demons come to them. There were times while the others were sleeping that he'd gotten into fights with demons without anyone waking, at least until Shippou's hearing started strengthening.

He didn't even notice when the hair tie he'd worn fell out, though he did notice when his ears were free from the bandana. He stopped immediately, grasping the bandana straight out of the air. He never let his ears raise back up, keeping them flattened just in case.

"Wow! That was cool!" he heard Conan breathe reverently as Inuyasha replaced the bandana on his head. He turned to look at the boy, gold eyes searching those light blue orbs. He noticed emotions passing through the young boy's eyes—jealousy, irritation, suspicion. Most prominent was a combination of confusion and hatred.

Inuyasha bit back a sigh. In this world, he would still be hated for his youkai blood—but worse than his world was that here, people wouldn't know _why_ they hated him. He walked over to the boy and knelt in front of him, ruffling the kid's hair. He silently cursed the entity in the well. Could he live with this wish?

"Want ta learn some?" he asked. He'd been teaching Shippou—this wouldn't be any different. He might have pretended not to like Shippou, calling him runt and brat all the time, but it was an act. He was pretending, even as Shippou was like family.

"You'd teach me?" Conan seemed even more suspicious of Inuyasha now, so instead he shrugged.

"Whatever," he grumbled, walking back over to where he'd been a moment ago. He kept a conscious mind to where Conan was at all times as he went through the motions, fighting an opponent only he could see. Conan was a weird kid. Most kids Inuyasha had met liked to be underfoot, or they tried to get closer to him as if he'd be able to protect them from an invisible opponent.

Conan instead sat down on the ground, folding his legs up beneath him as he watched with wiser eyes than he should have for someone so young. Hidden inside those blue orbs was a dangerous secret. Inuyasha knew eventually he'd find out what that secret was, but until then he would bide his time.

After all, he had all the time in the world now that the stupid well-creature had granted him a stupid wish that made him a part of this boy's life. Whether or not it wasn't fair, the well didn't seem to care either way.

So, instead he fought until his pent up energy had been exhausted and then sat down heavily. Because of a stupid wish, he'd lost everything. Surprisingly enough, even Sesshoumaru had acted somewhat nice. He didn't kill Inuyasha, but took Inuyasha's bargain and a few moments later, Inuyasha was at the well.

Sesshoumaru probably thought Inuyasha was dead too. After all, he did kind of disappear, so it would be logical to think he'd been purified rather than sealed. Still, what was Sesshoumaru doing, and why did he lock Kagome up to die? It was obvious to Inuyasha that more had happened than she was saying, and it also bothered Inuyasha that in his time, he'd been sealed for eight years, yet Kagome was locked up for only eight hours.

"It's getting late," Conan said suddenly, drawing Inuyasha's attention out of his mind. He looked at the sky and realized it was indeed getting late. The sky was a mixed blue-purple and Inuyasha could see the human child was shivering a little bit as the evening chill crept up on them.

"Keh," Inuyasha muttered and stood up. He noticed his hair tie was missing, but figured he'd find it in the morning rather than bother at that time. Kagome's mom had given him a handful of the ties. "Ya hungry?" he asked the kid. He knew how to use a microwave to make ramen and how to operate a sink to get the instant waterfall. Kagome had taught him that much at least, specifically instructing him _never_ to put any metal inside the microwave.

"I am a little bit," Conan said, "but Aunt and Uncle are going grocery shopping since there hasn't been food in the house for four years."

"But what about that one kid Yukiko was talkin' of?" Inuyasha tried to remember the hastily thrown name. "Shin'ichi, I think. I thought he's been here."

"He's hardly ever home," Shin'ichi whipped out the lie with ease. Four years certainly did give him plenty of practice lying on this particular subject. "He eats out or goes to Doc Agasa's next door."

"Well, Kagome's mom gave me some ramen cups. Do ya like ramen?"

Shin'ichi nodded enthusiastically, even though the very idea of ramen made him sick. That was all he had for the past few days since Ran was too sick to cook, and Kogoro wouldn't cook or let Shin'ichi (as Conan) use the stove.

"So how come you changed into those clothes, Inuyasha?" Shin'ichi questioned. Inuyasha was a strange mystery. The clothes he wore now appeared far more expensive than the simple polo and slacks he'd worn before. If all he intended to do was go outside and practice martial arts, why get dressed up for it?

"I like 'em better. Don't wanna wreck my good clothes." He followed Inuyasha up to his room and watched as he dug in the bag there, taking out two cups of microwavable dry ramen. Then he followed Inuyasha back downstairs to the kitchen where Inuyasha made the ramen. Shin'ichi got out two sets of chopsticks from the cupboard and they ate silently, Inuyasha finishing his before Shin'ichi could even finish chewing his third bite.

Then Inuyasha simply sat there, staring at the empty bowl as if willing it to be full again. Shin'ichi was having a really hard time figuring Inuyasha out. He had gold eyes and silver hair, which in itself was an abnormality. The gold color was too bright to be the result of color contacts. His silver hair had a soft blue shine when shadows hit it, and the bandana just didn't make sense. What was he wearing a bandana for, since clearly it wasn't to keep his bangs out of his face!

Was it some sort of gang thing? He certainly talked like some uneducated thug, and he clearly knew how to fight, though he couldn't judge Inuyasha being in a gang simply because he was in a gang. If he did that, he'd have to do the same for Ran, and Ran being in a gang was a laughable idea.

"Where's ya own parents, if ya livin' with Yukiko?" Inuyasha asked suddenly, startling Shin'ichi out of his thoughts.

"Oh, traveling," Shin'ichi said. He grabbed his and Inuyasha's now empty bowls and climbed off the chair to go toss the disposable dishware, putting the plastic chopsticks in the sink.

"Why ain't ya with them?"

Shin'ichi shrugged, feeling Inuyasha's eyes following him around the kitchen. "I don't want to travel."

Inuyasha got up abruptly. "Keh," he scoffed before leaving the room. Shin'ichi wondered, was it something he said? He didn't think he said anything offensive…

* * *

**End.**


	17. Bad Note

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

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_

Chapter Seventeen

Kagome made up a rather convincing half-lie that Heiji believed that night. She told him she'd left the house against his orders and ran into a bunch of bullies in the park near their father's street, then told him that the bullies had taunted her by saying her family would be murdered.

It was a very inconceivable lie to her, but Heiji believed it so much that she convinced him to sleep by her that night. She felt comforted to know if Sesshoumaru came for Heiji in the night, she was there to at least attempt to stop it.

She slept easily that night, her nose buried in Heiji's black nightshirt and his arms wrapped around her tinier form. Shizuka and their dad had both protested Kagome's request, saying it indecent, but after Heiji passed the made-up story to their dad, it was allowed.

By morning, though, Kagome was shivering despite the warmth of the blankets. Heiji had gotten up early to go to school, and she was left behind. She got up and dressed in pants and a warm sweater. Her form of dress received alien looks from Shizuka, who wore a long skirt and a short sleeve blouse under her white apron.

"I'll be driving you back to your mother's this afternoon," Shizuka said. "Start chopping these carrots up." Kagome was in no mood to argue with Shizuka, so she instead got a knife and started chopping the carrots in small chunks.

"Can Heiji come to my house?" Kagome asked, already knowing there was no use in asking.

Shizuka glared at Kagome. "My son is stronger than you ever will be, you silly troublemaker." Shizuka scolded her lightly. "He will be fine, and I have no doubt you'll be coming over more often to be a bother."

Kagome sighed again and put the chopped carrots in the pot Shizuka indicated they needed to go in. Sometime later, Shizuka had Kagome get herself ready to go home and Kagome went upstairs to grab the knife from the hamper and the black glove from under her mattress. No sense in someone finding them.

She didn't want to leave, but she knew she had to. And once she got back to her house, she would tell Inuyasha all about how Sesshoumaru kept coming to her. Tucking the knife in her sleeve and the glove in her back pocket, Shizuka drove her home and she went up the stairs fully expecting to find her friend waiting for her since he would have smelled her approach.

But he wasn't there, and even though Souta should have been home from school by that time, Souta was nowhere either. She walked into the house, a nervous edge coming over her. Soft sobs came from the kitchen and Kagome walked in there to find her mother sobbing into her hands, a letter on the table before her.

"Mama?" she asked softly, moving forward. Her mother quieted enough to look up at Kagome for a moment in silence, but then she bit her lip before sobbing again and pushing the letter toward Kagome. Kagome walked forward to pick the envelope up and found it had something heavier than just the letter in it. She pulled the letter out and then let the item fall in her hand.

Her blood ran cold as she saw the silver necklace she had given Souta for his birthday last year. He was so happy to have it, and it was her special apology for missing his birthday due to what she termed having a 'Naraku attack'. She'd cast a spell of protection on the expensive necklace, so that demons—if any were to come to her era and attack her family—could not lay a malicious hand on Souta without being purified by the necklace.

She knew there was a flaw in the spell from the moment she used it; it wouldn't protect against humans. This meant quite obviously that whatever happened, it was a human that did it.

Or… what if it was further proof of her loss of power? From all her research, even if she were to die or lose her power, the item should still work, since the enchantment was not connected to her. It had its own power core to draw on.

She nervously opened the letter, holding the necklace tight in her palm. It was written in strange, dark red ink, addressed to Kagome.

_My dearest Pet- _

_Continue with your ordinary life. Tell no one. I will contact you shortly. _

Kagome felt like laughing hysterically at his brilliance, but at the same time she wanted to cry. An insane, no longer honorable inuyoukai had her little brother, and her mother was crying because Kagome was the one who brought this trouble to her door.

"No," mama said suddenly, controlling her sobs. "Don't think this is your fault, sweetheart," mama was instantly on her feet, her arms pulling Kagome as close as she could without suffocating the younger girl.

That was what set off Kagome's tears. He really would follow her. How did her mother know what she was thinking? "Don't you dare think this is your fault…" mama insisted again, running her hand through Kagome's thick, un-brushed hair. "He needs us both strong right now…"

Kagome looked at the letter blindly. 'He knew mama would read it,' she thought. 'He knew, so he punished Souta by writing the letter in Souta's blood…'

"Just tell me what we must do," mama whispered in a pained voice.

Kagome couldn't think of anything but the fact that he had Souta. He used Heiji as a distraction, in case she were to go home. He sent _her_ on a wild goose chase, when the danger was not on Heiji, but on Souta. But why wasn't Inuyasha there to protect Souta? Did he go home? Did the well let him through?

She couldn't risk trying the well now. She needed to ensure Souta's safety before she could attempt going back. The jewel could wait. Naraku could wait. Souta came before the jewel, any day. It terrified her that he could take the necklace off that protected Souta. He was the very thing she'd wanted to protect Souta against; a youkai.

She and her mother were both equally afraid, but finally Kagome found her voice. "Mama, he's an inuyoukai… he's the one who locked me in the vault… tell me you didn't tell the police…"

Mama shook her head. "I only just read the letter myself," she sniffed. "He'd called yesterday from school, asking to stay over at a friend's house. I said it would be okay, and yet I worried… It's my fault…"

"This is what we're going to do," Kagome began, her voice gaining strength as she vowed internally to get Souta back. "We're going to act as we would normally." Mama gave Kagome a look of surprise and Kagome interjected before her mother could argue, "We're not going to the police. We _can't_. If we tell anyone, it's obvious he's going to hurt Souta, and I know who the youkai is and that he's very dangerous. We _cannot_ afford to let dad find out."

"But, but Kagome, the police could do," mama attempted, pulling herself away from Kagome to hug her shoulders.

Kagome let her righteous fury show in her voice. "The police could do nothing! This is a very dangerous youkai, mama, and he's got Souta! He could kill half of Tokyo with a drop of his poison! If anyone asks, Souta's at a friend's house." Kagome turned away from her mother. "Sesshoumaru will _pay_ for this… I will see to it. I'll purify his ass till there's not even dust left."

Kagome's fury was vaporized by a sudden coughing spasm.

xXx

Inuyasha woke up the moment his door slid open softly. Humans would never have heard it, but he did, and Conan's soft footfalls came closer to him with each step. He kept his eyes closed and his body relaxed as if he were still asleep, letting the curious and suspicious boy closer.

He'd taken the bandana off while he slept, and he was warmed by the moonlight that shone through the window on his body. It was inevitable that the boy would learn of what he really was. If the kid reacted badly, Inuyasha would knock him out and take him to his room before he could wake and let the kid play it off as a bad dream.

Shin'ichi stopped in the middle of the room for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Once they had adjusted, he looked at the bed for Inuyasha. His surprise that Inuyasha wasn't there was prominent. But a quick glance around showed Inuyasha was sleeping on the window seat.

He walked over and peered at the mysterious Inuyasha. The guy looked ethereal in the moonlight. He didn't sleep with a blanket. He was on his back, one leg and one arm hanging toward the floor. His other arm lay on his red clothed chest, and his silver hair seemed to glow delicately. But there was something odd… he just couldn't place his finger on it. Something was missing.

Shin'ichi's eyes were attracted by a sudden movement by Inuyasha's head and for a moment he stepped backward in shock. That was… a dog ear…? Curious to dangerous points, Shin'ichi moved forward again. He peered at Inuyasha's features once more. Inuyasha was still asleep. He reached forward to touch the moving dog ear. His hand came an inch close and then his wrist was caught, and Inuyasha's glowing golden eyes were peering at Shin'ichi.

"Only one person gets away with that," Inuyasha said firmly. He lifted Shin'ichi by his arm even as he sat up. Shin'ichi squirmed. "Ya can dislocate your shoulder that way." Inuyasha pointed out as he set Shin'ichi on the window seat.

Slightly unnerved, Shin'ichi found himself rooted to the spot, staring at Inuyasha even as Inuyasha stared at him. The dog ears swiveled with the smallest noises. "What the hell are you?" Shin'ichi asked, forgetting he was supposed to be in his Conan persona.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Hanyou," he said as if it didn't matter. Inuyasha could practically feel the disbelief flowing from the kid and knew what he would say even before he said it.

"Liar. Hanyou are myths. They're nothing but old wives tales to keep kids in bed."

Inuyasha tugged on one of his ears, bored eyes looking at the child. "Are ya so sure?" he smirked, flashing fangs at the kid. Then, when he saw he had still not convinced Conan, he held a palm up for Conan's inspection. Slowly he closed his hand, balling it into a fist. Then, he punctured his claws into his palm and opened it so the child could inspect it.

Blood flowed from the wounds, creating vertical red streaks. Shin'ichi stared openly as the wounds then sealed right before his very eyes, leaving only blood to prove they'd been there at all. Instantly he latched onto the hand and Inuyasha let him move it at all angles as he tried to find the injuries that weren't there anymore.

Shin'ichi wiped the blood away with his sleeve. It didn't make any sense at all. There should be a wound there! He'd heard flesh breaking. His eyes looked at Inuyasha's openly amused gold orbs.

But then in a way, it made sense. No ordinary human could have gold eyes, right? But didn't that pin Inuyasha further as the thief? Because no ordinary human could look like he did! "How? It's not possible," he breathed.

Inuyasha took his hand back and began licking away the blood to the boy's obvious disgust. "Why ain't it possible?" Inuyasha asked. "I'm sittin' here in front o' ya. Ya lookin' at me, ain't ya?"

Shin'ichi sat in silence for a moment, trying to figure things out. He couldn't be asleep, so this wasn't a dream. He'd set his alarm early despite the fact that his body begged for sleep because of the last few days staying up taking care of Ran. But this certainly had to be a joke.

"It isn't logical, so therefore, it isn't possible." He decided. Logic decided everything. Then, suddenly Inuyasha had grabbed his hand and tucked him under his arm, leaping out of the open window. Fear locked his scream in his stomach, so it never got out. Inuyasha landed easily and set Shin'ichi on his feet, then turned to bare his back to Shin'ichi, pulling his hair out of the way.

"Come on, kid. I'll give you all th' illogical proof ya want." Inuyasha grinned at the kid's hesitation. "Hey, ya ain't afraid, are you?" He chuckled at the indignant huff. "Then let's go."

Shin'ichi wasn't sure what madness made him climb piggyback, but he did and then his stomach sank into his feet as Inuyasha launched off the ground, so high they passed the roof of the house. Definitely Shin'ichi was convinced, but Inuyasha landed on the roof and ran across it, his hair whipping behind him. Shin'ichi clung to Inuyasha's shoulder for dear life, especially when Inuyasha leapt off the side of the mansion.

The sensation of flying was all too brief before Inuyasha landed in a precariously balanced perch on the iron fence his feet on the horizontal re-bar. "Are you insane?" Shin'ichi howled, still clinging, but his eyes were on the ground. The fence was twenty-five feet high.

"No." Inuyasha said simply. "Hang on." He barely gave him a chance to register he'd spoken before taking off again, landing on the neighbors' roof before once again running across it to take off to the next house.

Shin'ichi wasn't sure how long it had been since they began running, but he did know when they stopped. He looked around in amazement (after fervently kissing the ground and praising whoever thought of solid footing). The sky seemed so close now, and the moon ten times bigger. Inuyasha had gotten them onto the roof of one of the many skyscrapers around Tokyo.

Shin'ichi went to the edge and peered over. Sure, he'd been on skyscrapers before, but it seemed like such a new view going up the building from the outside rather than an elevator or stairs. Everything looked so small. "Wow!"

Inuyasha grinned and jumped up on the railing. It was nothing but a simple metal bar extending the length of the building. His bare feet balanced easily; balance had been one thing Sesshoumaru had drilled into him all those years ago. Sometimes it slipped if he was surprised—Kagome was usually the one who surprised him.

Shin'ichi stared up at Inuyasha. Sure he still wasn't entirely convinced that Inuyasha wasn't the thief, but that wasn't what they were trying to accomplish was it? Inuyasha wanted to prove he was a hanyou—a half-breed demon. The proof really _was_ illogical. It was the middle of the night and they were on a skyscraper.

It was more logical that he was dreaming. Shin'ichi looked at his watch, but he could tell dawn was approaching even before he did so from the graying sky. He leaned on the bottom rung of the rail to watch the sun rise from the top of the skyscraper. After a while, he began to shiver at the early morning chill and then something red obscured his vision.

He quickly found it was Inuyasha's red haori. "Ya humans catch colds so easy," was the gruff reasoning Inuyasha gave. Shin'ichi pulled it around his shoulders and was instantly dwarfed by it. Then Inuyasha sat on the rail, one leg hanging and the other foot on the bottom rung of the rail. "Ya not really a kid, are ya?" Inuyasha asked seemingly out of the blue.

Shin'ichi blinked and then mentally recounted his behavior, realizing he hadn't stayed in the Conan persona. Still, what if Inuyasha was from the black syndicate? His appearance was timed rather appropriately. Shin'ichi had shrunk four years ago, and Inuyasha was 'adopted' four years ago. Then again, this could all be a hallucination… he could wake up at Ran's in the morning. Maybe he was sick.

"Of course I am!" he chirped in Conan's childish voice. "My name is Conan Edogawa. I go to Teitan Elementary School."

"Ya lyin'." Inuyasha said bluntly. At the questioning look he got, he pointed out, "I can pick up a lie like a feather from th' ground. Ya heart speeds up when ya lie, an' ya sweat at ya temples. Ya left eyebrow twitches too. Gonna have t' do better than that t' fool me."

Shin'ichi opened his mouth to object, but Inuyasha's ears swiveled suddenly at a noise Shin'ichi hadn't heard. Inuyasha seemed to be listening, but Shin'ichi was glad for whatever distracted him. "We gotta go," Inuyasha said, just as a door leading to the stairs on the skyscraper opened and a portly man came out.

Shin'ichi was bridled against Inuyasha's chest almost instantly and Inuyasha leapt over the edge regardless of the man's calls. They were going down so far and so fast that Shin'ichi wanted to vomit, and then he heard Inuyasha whispering in his ear, "This'll probably hurt, but hang tight t' me."

Great… they were going to die…

He felt as though fire was entering his veins and opened his eyes as a howling noise tore out of Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha was surrounded by a blue-gray fire and his eyes were a deeper gold than before. Then the fire going through Shin'ichi's veins dimmed and he clutched to Inuyasha. They were still falling.

The howls of dogs in the city could be heard raising their voices even through the wind whipping in Shin'ichi's ears. He realized they were responding to Inuyasha's call—or whatever that had been. Then once more the fire intensified in Shin'ichi's veins and he squeezed his eyes shut. Inuyasha's body was shifting, and then the pain was gone and Shin'ichi was laying on something soft and comfy.

"Haha," he laughed, sitting up to rub his eyes. "Just a dream." He opened them and nearly jumped out of his skin. He was on an incredibly large dog, at least three meters at the shoulder, sitting between its shoulder blades. There was a blue-gray fire surrounding each of the massive dog's paws and the dog was running on nothing but air.

"Still dreaming!" Shin'ichi panicked as what he thought to be Inuyasha ran across apparently just wind waves. Shin'ichi clung to the silver fur and within moments they had touched down in the enclosed back yard of Shin'ichi's parents' home. It was a rather rough landing, one that jarred Shin'ichi off the back of the nearly ten-foot dog. Inuyasha was quick, however, and caught the back of Shin'ichi's clothes in his jaws.

He set the kid down, almost laughing at the sight before him. He accidentally slobbered Conan. Inuyasha's red haori took the brunt of the drool, but Conan's hair was flat out drool. And all Conan seemed to be able to do was stare.

Of course, Inuyasha couldn't keep the form for very long. He hadn't even been sure he could do it since he was a hanyou and it required an extreme amount of power reserves. It went to show that Sesshoumaru was incredibly powerful, ten times more so than Inuyasha, to be able to transform and stay in that state for a long period of time.

Still, he was very proud to have been able to transform at all. Maybe Sesshoumaru would have been proud to call Inuyasha 'brother' if he knew…? He shrugged it off before the thought of Sesshoumaru could make him angry and released the transformation, becoming himself again, his clothes having been preserved by the magic.

Shin'ichi couldn't help it. He fainted. Inuyasha knew from that point forward that the brat would be quite a center of trouble in his life, just like Kagome. He thought he heard whispered laughter from the well-creature in his mind and sighed in resignation. At least his life would have a little bit of similarity to his old one... or it would if that creature kept up with its nonsense.

* * *

End.


	18. Bad Week

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Eighteen

A week passed with Kagome and her mother anxiously checking the mail every day for a letter from Kagome's silent stalker. Toshiro stopped by twice during the week to see Kagome and Souta, but mama was still too upset to face Toshiro and lie about Souta's whereabouts. Kagome was forced to do it, and it killed her to say it with a smile.

Her insides burned furiously with the need for revenge. She didn't care if killing him meant a lifetime in prison, but Sesshoumaru had dared to extend his cold-blooded hands to Kagome's family. Or hand, as the one-armed case may be.

Kagome also ignored the phone calls from Heiji each night. She knew he was anxious to find out what school she'd chosen, and it was likely that he wanted to talk to Souta as well. She didn't want to have to lie to Heiji. It was bad enough she had to lie to her detective father about Souta's whereabouts and appear as though her little brother hadn't just gotten kidnapped by a maniac.

Kagome and her mother stopped going out of the house. Mama hardly slept, yet she couldn't stand being awake. She insisted it wasn't Kagome's fault, but her mother's mourning made Kagome feel as though she should die. If it weren't for her… if she had just died in the vault… then the golem could have taken her place forever and they would be safe.

Kagome didn't leave the house because her mother's behavior had her worried sick. Mama wouldn't eat and kept making a mad dash for the phones to call the police whenever Kagome turned her back. By the third day, Kagome had to tear the phone lines out. She would not risk her brother's life. Souta would be safe if Kagome complied with Sesshoumaru's wishes—now if only she could convince her mother of that…

Seven days after the letter was received, Sesshoumaru himself showed up. It was the middle of the night, and Kagome was attempting to sleep beside her fitful mother in her mother's large bed. Not only was Sesshoumaru there, but another man was. Sesshoumaru grabbed Kagome by the hair and dragged her away from her mother.

Her mother saw this, and something seemed to click in her mind. Disheveled from a week without bothering to care for herself and sick with worry for Souta, mama leapt at Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru easily moved aside, dragging Kagome with. Kagome couldn't help but cry out in pain as he yanked on her hair.

The second man grabbed Kagome's mother and easily held her, pinning her arms to her side. Tears came to Kagome's eyes as she saw her mother, in a state near berserk, struggling to free herself. "Let her go!" Kagome cried. "Let my mama go!" She fought not only to free her hair of Sesshoumaru's deadly grip, but also frantically searching inside of her for the miko power that could save them both.

It wasn't to be found. The man holding Kagome's mother knocked the berserk woman over the head and then picked up the unconscious woman far easier than when she was struggling. He started leaving with her, and Kagome panicked.

"Where are you taking her? Where are you taking her!" Kagome yelled, but anything further was cut off as Sesshoumaru tossed her across the room. She hit the vanity mirror and it shattered around her; she could feel the shards slicing into her body as she rolled to the floor with a thwump noise. "Ung," she moaned. The last injuries hadn't yet healed, and he was tossing her about like a rag doll, not to mention the fact that she thought she might have a cracked rib from the assault in the park.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "You didn't listen to me." He sounded almost… happy… "I do love disobedience… it gives me a reason to punish…"

"You said not to tell anyone!" Kagome hissed as a sharp intake of breath hurt. "I made sure of it. No one knows anything!"

"I told you to continue with your ordinary life… instead, you and your pathetic human mother holed yourself up in this place, casting suspicion in the mind of the detective Toshiro Hattori." Sesshoumaru stepped purposefully on her hand, grinding it into broken mirror glass. She screamed in pain and tried to pull away, but movement was beyond her at the moment.

Sesshoumaru continued speaking, accenting each sentence with a new twist of his heel. "Toshiro Hattori… Shizuka Hattori… Heiji Hattori… They're all nothing more than a nuisance to be disposed of as I see fit… This Sesshoumaru has the master's permission to deal with you and them however I like."

Kagome managed to pull herself away from Sesshoumaru, only he came closer and closer, his advances quicker than she could manage to retreat. He bent over, grabbing her hair again. "So until I am ready for you, I will keep your mother and your brother _safe_. This Sesshoumaru has to follow the master, but he still has his own plans." She gulped down vomit as he began trailing feathery kisses along her newly bloodied cheek. Then he licked at that blood, and that revolted her even more.

She wanted to push him away, but she lacked the energy to do so. It was strange how weak she was. Her skin felt clammy to her, but her body felt like it was on fire at the same time. Her head spun in circles and she fought for her consciousness, but slowly it faded away.

When she awoke, she was in a bed not her own, definitely in a place not her own either. She could barely move, but she forced herself up. Her wounds were bandaged, and an inspection of them proved they weren't as bad as she'd thought they would be as they were being made. That didn't mean they didn't hurt like hell though.

Tacked in plain sight to the door of what appeared to be a two-bedroom apartment was a note. She forced herself to go to it, pulling it down and reading what it said.

_My dearest Pet- _

_I hope your new accommodations suit you. You will find everything you require for your new school on the kitchen table. Remember who needs you as you go through your day. Act normal. Be back to this apartment by four PM. If you wish to go someplace, you will request permission. Keep in mind who you belong to, and what one wrong move will get you… _

Kagome's hand shook and she left the bedroom to find the kitchen table. He seemed to have planned out everything. She was enrolled in a nearby high school. He was obviously testing her to see how well she would follow orders. Obviously she wasn't going to do anything that jeopardized her family.

Then she saw what school he enrolled her in. Teitan High. Heiji was going there… He was really going to test her limits…

She looked at the other items he left for her. Other than the schoolbooks she would need, he left money and a grocery list. This was an absolute nightmare… And she wasn't sure whether to feel betrayed that Inuyasha was back in his time, or happy that he wasn't getting hurt by involving himself… She had no way to be positive Inuyasha was back in his time, but she had to believe it… if she was to survive…

And yet… a traitorous little voice in her mind whispered that none of this would have happened if she just listened to Inuyasha in the first place…

She looked around for a clock and found one positioned on the wall above an empty television stand. It read 3:53 PM. She would be going nowhere today… She could only hope Souta and her mother were okay…

xXx

Inuyasha grinned, walking with his arms folded as much in his school uniform jacket as he could. The clothes were too tight for him, in his opinion, but the school wouldn't let him get any size bigger than fitting. "If you grow out of it, the school will provide new clothes!" the stingy office lady stated.

Inuyasha didn't understand that, since the Kudo family was paying for his clothes. Surely he should be able to get the size that fit properly (setting aside the fact that the ones he wore did fit properly, even if it was too much). He'd grown up in clothes too big for him, and the shirt was pressing the rosary into his neck.

As soon as school was over, Inuyasha immediately pulled his dress shirt out of his slacks, relieving a little bit of the tension. Of course, he was enjoying himself at 'school'. He hadn't seen Kagome yet, but he couldn't help but wonder what she would think if she saw him now. People liked him.

The first day he had gone, people had seemed a little unsure how to act toward him. He was a bit nervous the first day, and knew it showed in his gruff behavior although only those who knew him would have noticed. The second day, he'd been curious so after school he walked around and came across a room like a practice dojo back in his world.

People were in there, clacking bamboo swords against each other to a drill a tall man was calling out. Instantly his attention had been grabbed and he settled in to watch, leaning against a wall, the school bag with his 'homework' in it by his feet. He noticed many things, most prominent in his mind at that time was how their form was awful, leaving openings and they were all unbalanced.

He hadn't intended to get involved, but then another student leaned against the wall beside him. Inuyasha had peered at him out of the corner of his eye and saw that it was the boy who had been at Kogoro Mori's place of residence a few days earlier. He had no intention of talking to the boy, and it seemed the boy only came to watch as well, so he let some of the tension at the boy's appearance fade away.

And then the man calling out orders whacked one of the students on the head for dropping the bamboo sword. It might not have been a big deal to Inuyasha—Sesshoumaru had beaten the shit out of him if he dropped his sword—but the kid was a young girl who couldn't be much older than Souta.

Inuyasha had been drilled by Kagome that to help the weak meant to be the stronger warrior. He might still act gruff and pretend he didn't care, but very quickly he realized he would still jump to assist even without Kagome there to wheedle him into doing something.

Still leaning on the wall, he called out, "Hey! What th' hell ya doin' hittin' her for?" The boy next to him seemed surprised Inuyasha said anything.

The instructor's eyes narrowed in on Inuyasha, and instantly movement died down. It was nothing more than a staring contest between Inuyasha and the instructor. Inuyasha scowled at him, to further show his disapproval. "I'm teaching. Do you think a predator would be any kinder?"

Inuyasha felt a feral grin cross his face at the word 'predator'. He pressed himself away from the wall, slowly walking toward where the instructor and the student stood. "Ya teachin' wrong." He said quietly, though everyone could hear him and he knew it.

The instructor's face went instantly from dark tan to a purple color. Inuyasha sized him up. He was a big man, taller than even Sesshoumaru, and had broader shoulders and bulky muscles. Sesshoumaru had often said, "A great weakness in humans is their failing to realize that bigger is not always better. A youkai can be big and retain their speed… a human cannot."

"Who are you?" the instructor hissed, his brown eyes narrowing in anger.

Inuyasha merely shrugged at the question. "Apparently I'm a Kudo." Conan had told him that humans had two important names: their last and their first. Their last name identified what family they belonged to and usually struck chords into the heart of whoever they were talking to. Their first name identified them as an individual. Once Conan had half-way accepted Inuyasha as a demon (he refused to talk about the transformation still but was no longer in disbelief) it was easy to ask Conan any question he wanted about the way humans did things.

The instructor's eyes narrowed further. "Kudo…" he hissed, and Inuyasha had to wonder what his apparent new sibling 'Shin'ichi' did at this school to make this man so adverse to the name. "You look like no Kudo!"

Inuyasha bowed mockingly at the man. "I am everythin' th' opposite o' th' Kudo family." He grinned again as he stood up. "I am Inuyasha."

The instructor then sniffed haughtily, "Then prove your worth! Daniko! Give him a sword." Inuyasha watched the young girl nervously approach him and accepted the bamboo sword she held out. "Gyvn!" he called out again, and a tall boy stepped forward. "He's my best. Prove yourself."

Inuyasha looked at the wood sword and said evenly, "Ya too chicken t' take me on? Gotta send little kids?" People bristled at first at the 'kid' comment but the instructor sputtered in outrage and they instantly stopped.

The instructor snatched a bamboo sword away. "I'll teach you your place!" he said loudly.

"I'm waitin', then." Inuyasha said and held the sword carefully. He had to reinforce the sword with wind magic, a tentative new ability he was trying out so the sword hilt didn't shatter like the tennis racquets did. He didn't bother to even move into a defensive stance as the instructor bowed as if stating he were Inuyasha's equal and would enjoy the fight.

He wouldn't like it after Inuyasha got through with him, that was for sure. "BOW!" the instructor snarled.

His feral grin only getting wider, Inuyasha said, "No. I don't bow t' morons." Jaws dropped at that, as though Inuyasha dared to talk to their leader that way was an alien thing. "Ya comin' or what?"

The instructor did come, and he swung his sword down at Inuyasha. Inuyasha simply leapt out of the way and the instructor stumbled and his sword point clacked against the floor. "What," the instructor began, looking for Inuyasha. Inuyasha was behind him, but he didn't bother to take the kill just yet.

"Behind you, Sensei!" one student yelled. "He's real fast!"

The instructor turned around abruptly and his eyes bulged out like old Jaken's used to. Inuyasha had the random thought of what was going on in his era. Those miko… they were for real, and wanted to get rid of youkai for good. Was Jaken sealed? On another issue, what about Sesshoumaru?

"Ya real slow," Inuyasha snickered. Of course, Sesshoumaru would never be dumb enough to get himself sealed, and plus he had just been in Kagome's home and locked Kagome away. He shoved the angry thoughts away so they couldn't make him go berserk. That was the last thing he needed.

The instructor again came at Inuyasha, and the students all ran to be against the wall, at least that was all of them except the young girl Daniko. She firmly stood her ground and watched with a strange look of amazement on her face. Again, Inuyasha side-stepped the violent swing.

The instructor kept coming at Inuyasha using nothing but brute force. Inuyasha simply bided his time. The weak wood and the strength of those hits started creating a crack in the wood that he knew would be the cause of the sword cracking. It wasn't made for the extended abuse, though it was made to be flexible.

And then it broke, and the instructor had no time to catch his balance. He went down face first. Inuyasha poked the tip of his sword to the instructor's butt. "Ya predator is me, an' I ain't forgivin' neither," he said. "I didn't even have t' do nothin' t' win. Like I said, ya teachin' wrong."

Inuyasha stepped back and removed his magic from the sword. The instructor got up and Inuyasha turned his back. He heard the instructor motioning the students for a new sword; one was tossed to him. Inuyasha could hear the movement as he raised the sword and Inuyasha turned to bring the bamboo sword he held up to meet the downward swing.

His sword started creaking under the pressure of his grip, and he once more infused the hilt with his wind magic so it could counter his grip instead of the wood taking the pressure. He shoved away with the sword, sending the instructor sprawling, but the instructor got up just as quickly and began to show skill rather than brawn.

He parried and thrust, and his brute strength would have cracked Inuyasha's sword a few times even through his magic, so he had to jump backwards. The fight was still nothing more than exercise for Inuyasha and the man didn't hold half the strength Inuyasha did, although Conan warned Inuyasha that showing any _unnatural_ abilities would get him locked away for testing in some science lab.

Kagome had always warned him not to show his ears and not to do anything magical, but she'd never given him a reason. She'd just always turned red and muttered, 'no reason'. It was nice to know she was simply worried for his safety, and not ashamed of him.

Within moments, the instructor was sweating and out of breath. The activity was about as stressing as picking his nails clean for Inuyasha on the other hand. Then, bored with the lack of challenge, Inuyasha ended it. He swung his sword at an opening, hitting the instructor in the chest, and the instructor went down like a lump.

Inuyasha then tossed his sword down on the heap and his magic flew back to him unnoticed by the ordinary humans. He jammed his hands in his pockets. "Pathetic human," he couldn't help but say. "You shouldn't teach somethin' ya don't know."

He then went and got his bag and left, noticing how the boy who had been at Mori's place watched him suspiciously. That night after asking Conan, Inuyasha learned the name of the boy. Heiji Hattori. He tucked the knowledge away.

The third day came with Inuyasha walking Conan to his school and then going across the street to his own. Word apparently spread fast. People watched him in eager anticipation for some reason, and when he went to enter the school, the instructor from the dojo was there, blocking his path.

Then, to Inuyasha's surprise, the instructor said, "Will you join the kendo team?"

"I'll think 'bout it," he said, and the instructor agreed that was probably as much as he'd get. After that, strange things started happening. Girls brought him lunch boxes, and he noticed that Daniko was always the first one to give him the lunch. Guys sent him jealous glares, though he couldn't figure out why. And all this kept happening while Heiji Hattori watched him suspiciously.

After school on the third day, Inuyasha walked around school again and landed in a large room with a mat on the floor. Students here were learning martial arts. This instructor knew what she was doing too, and when she saw him come in, she came over to him with a bright 'It's such a beautiful day' smile on her face. "Hi! I'm Lanie-sensei. Are you here to join? We're always accepting new members!"

There were fourteen people, according to Inuyasha's count. If he joined, that would make an odd number of students to pair off, and though it did look like fun, he shook his head. "I ain't wantin' t' make ya numbers odd, or I'd join," he admitted.

Of course, his stalker Heiji then appeared and said, "I'll join. Come on, Kudo. Ya can pair with me, right Lanie-sensei?"

Inuyasha blinked at Heiji. Lanie-sensei giggled. "Ah, friends in combat! I like that. Well, today we're just pairing off. You'll find the uniform in the men's locker room. Go ahead and take a size that fits you, just be sure to mark down on the sheet beside the cabinet what you took so I can order a replacement size."

Inuyasha shrugged and followed Heiji into the men's locker room. He looked at the sizes in the cabinet and took one of the white haori and hakama sets that closely matched his fire rat clothes in size. He set his bag next to the other students' bags, knowing he had nothing worth stealing if anyone wanted to.

Out in the main area, he then paired off with Heiji. He'd thought at first that he'd have to go easy on the guy, but quickly he learned his mistake. He was _good_. Soon the both of them were panting and even Inuyasha worked up a thin sheen of sweat. He had to be careful not to get carried away and use his claws.

Then a whistle blew, and Lanie-sensei called out the end of practice, stating they would meet again on Friday. The male and female students split up, most of them chattering eagerly, as they went into their respective locker rooms. Most of the men hit the showers. Inuyasha did not.

Sure, he knew how to use the automatic hot waterfall, but he couldn't remove his bandana in public. He could shower back at the Kudo castle. Heiji stopped him as he was leaving the locker room. "Not showerin', Kudo?" he questioned.

Inuyasha shook his head. "Nah." He shrugged. "I gotta pick up Conan anyway, an' he'll bitch I'm late again t'day. See ya." Indeed, Conan did gripe about Inuyasha being late. Just like the day before, Conan was eagerly staring out his classroom window for Inuyasha, waiting until he showed up. With an apparent killer loose in Kagome's world, elementary teachers kept the little kids in class until a parent or sibling came to collect them.

Once again, Conan shot out of the school once Inuyasha took a single step onto walk leading to the elementary school. "You're late, again! Do you know that blasted teacher sees every move I make? I can't escape him! It's like I'm some sort of helpless kid!" Conan ranted.

Inuyasha snickered and let the seething kid lead the way back to the Kudo residence.

The fourth day was the day that someone finally took notice to Inuyasha wearing a bandana. The white bandana was hardly noticeable against his silver hair apparently, but the particular teacher finally got fed up with his long non-protocol-length hair and started ranting. Inuyasha also had to listen to it, while standing in front of the entire class. When the teacher took out scissors and told him to sit down, he gave the teacher a warning he knew would not soon be forgotten by any who heard.

"You touch the bandana, or my hair, and you will live to regret it." He then stopped going to math class, and rumors spread far and wide. No one complained about his hair or the bandana again. Students kept admiring him for his 'bold' behavior against the teacher who dared question the length of his hair. But he kept his hair respectably held back at the nape of his neck, and didn't wear the colorful bandanas that Kagome's mom got him, sticking with the white.

The fourth day he simply went home after school; girls had taken to following him around like flies on a dead carcass, and it was unnerving. Worse still, when Conan shot out of the school, the girls cooed. Conan asked why he had a flock of girls following him, and he had no answer—he didn't know himself.

He was very glad the Kudo residence had a huge protective fence around it.

The fifth day, Inuyasha was in eager anticipation for the end of it. He'd get to fight his watcher Heiji again, and he wasn't disappointed either. He got to fight Heiji, and Heiji even landed a blow that left a bleeding fat lip behind. After that blow, he fought not only Heiji, but his ability to heal himself.

But it was a rewarding workout. Then, when he went to leave the school, he found the entire kendo team bowing to him. Their instructor was nowhere in sight. "Please teach us!" they chanted. Daniko was at the head of the team, and her cute, pouty lips and big brown eyes pleaded him to learn. It was like Souta, just a female version. She really wanted to learn.

He scratched the back of his neck, his clothes tucked in his bag and his bag in his hand. "Um, I guess," he started, and when he noticed they appeared to be taking formation, he hastily said, "But not now. What about tomorrow?" He knew there was no school the next day, and the martial arts club wouldn't meet until Monday.

"What time?" they asked happily. 'Oh, what have I gotten into?' he asked himself as the well-creature seemed to let out bales of laughter in his ear.

"I don't know…" he began.

Daniko said, "Three o'clock? Is that okay?" He nodded and they slid away from him; he noticed the blatant difference between humans in Kagome's world and the ones in his world. If humans here could not see any reason for their uncertain dislike of him—they'd all shown confused hatred in their eyes the first day—they wouldn't act on it, and it would fade away.

By that time, Heiji had come out of the school and he fell into step beside Inuyasha as Inuyasha crossed the street for Conan. "What'd'ya want?" Inuyasha asked. Heiji didn't respond, but that was when Conan zoomed out of the school. Heiji tilted his head at Conan.

"I'll walk with Heiji today, Inuyasha!" Conan chirped. Inuyasha shrugged and started for the Kudo residence. When Inuyasha showed up at the Kudo residence without Conan, Yukiko freaked out and started yelling. Inuyasha only yelled right back, saying Conan went with Heiji Hattori. The boy was old enough to make up his own mind who he walked with.

The sixth day there was no school, but Inuyasha was still up early. He snuck into Conan's room while the boy was still sleeping, and perched on the bed end on his toes until Conan woke up and tossed his pillow at him, grumbling about how early risers were the bane to all existence. After both of them had prepared for the day, since Yukiko had stated in no uncertain terms at dinner on the fifth day that Conan was to stay with Inuyasha all day, Inuyasha told the boy they were going to the high school.

Conan asked why, but Inuyasha didn't tell him. When they got there, people were coming and going from the school. Despite being a Saturday, the school was still open and the teachers were still there for anyone who wanted additional assistance to visit, although traditional classes were not being held.

Inuyasha made a bee-line for the dojo. By the time they got there, it was eleven AM; Inuyasha had gotten up at five. Conan had gotten up closer to nine. "What are we doing here?" Conan asked.

"Some brats want me t' show 'em th' proper way t' use a sword," Inuyasha explained, sitting down on the ground and folding his legs to sit and be calm. He stuck his hands in his red haori sleeves, having decided that wearing something comfortable would be beneficial rather than ruining his clothes from Kagome's mom. Sesshoumaru used to call this 'meditation' but it was too Sesshoumaru-y to think of it that way, so he called it 'sitting and being calm'. It had a nicer ring to it.

"You can use a sword too?" Conan asked, unable to hide his jealous disbelief. Inuyasha peered through one golden eye, his other eye closed, at the young boy. They were the only ones within fifty feet of the dojo, and Inuyasha knew it.

"I ain't th' one best t' teach 'em, but th' girl looked like she was gonna cry if I said no t' 'er." Inuyasha watched for a second as the young Conan started pacing in annoyance. "So, I can show 'em what I know."

People began showing up around half-past two, and at three, Inuyasha simply had people take their starting stance. He began with correcting their footing and telling everyone that balance would be their savior, especially if faced with a stronger opponent. Then, he got annoyed when they started saying stuff like, "That's not how Sensei does it," or "But Sensei told us to do _this_."

When that happened, he decided, 'Screw the tears, I'm out of here,' and he left them puzzled and standing there, Conan trailing after him.

"You don't have much in the way of patience, do you?" Conan had asked him then.

The seventh day, Inuyasha spent staring out his bedroom window, bored and wishing to talk to Kagome. She hadn't come to school, and he was beginning to worry that with so many schools, she had chosen one very opposite than the one Yukiko requested he go to.

Now it had been eight days since starting school, and Inuyasha had just gotten out of the martial arts club after a fight with Heiji. He'd hastily changed into his school uniform and was on his way to pick up Conan from across the street. Heiji called out to him, "Kudo, wait a minute!" He slowed to let the other guy catch up, curious what Heiji might want. When he saw Heiji had two bags, he realized what he'd forgotten.

"Ya bag," Heiji held it out. "Ya were in a rush, eh? Where ya gettin'?"

Inuyasha took the bag, not bothering to thank Heiji. "I got permission from Yukiko t' go see my best friend, so long's I take Conan with."

"Really?" Heiji inquired. "Where do they live?" They walked beside each other as they crossed the street.

As they got to the front gate of the school, Inuyasha looked around in confusion. "Where's Conan?" he asked aloud. He never got the opportunity to answer Heiji's question, and aside from that, he didn't know where Kagome lived exactly. He was going to search the city for her father's house, wherever that was.

Heiji shrugged, but then Inuyasha saw Conan rushing out of the school, trailing two other kids. Conan looked annoyed, and Inuyasha saw that the other three kids were considerably taller than Conan. "Damn, and here I thought I was done with the lunch money robbing," Inuyasha heard Conan swear under his breath. Then, finally aggravated to the point he couldn't ignore, he turned to the two boys and said, "Leave me alone!"

Inuyasha walked toward Conan and stopped behind him. The two boys were still considerably smaller than Inuyasha, and their eyes rose to meet orbs of molten gold. "Ya havin' trouble?" Inuyasha asked Conan, and the boy snapped 'no'. Then, as though to echo Conan's 'no', the two boys hastily excused themselves saying there wasn't a problem.

Heiji came over, as casual as could be. "Hey, Shi—Conan," Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the blunder, but Conan didn't seem to notice it. He was too preoccupied with dangerous thoughts of bullies. "Ya want t' come t' my place? Kudo says he's goin' someplace anyway."

Inuyasha went to object, to say that Conan would be company for Kagome's brother, but then paused as his eyes caught on a form exiting the school. The red hair, held back in a high tie, the angled jaw, those green eyes… it wasn't possible, was it? But the miko wanted to seal everything youkai. Did this mean they lost? Did the miko lose?

* * *

**End.**


	19. Bad Illness

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Nineteen

"Inuyasha?" Shippou breathed reverently, walking over with disbelief in his eyes. "Holy shit, it is you!" he said suddenly and a beaming grin crossed his face. Inuyasha blinked for a moment before scratching the back of his neck in confusion. "We all thought you were dead!"

Painfully aware that Heiji and Conan were staring back and forth between himself and Shippou, Inuyasha didn't respond. Conan seemed to realize Inuyasha's need for privacy (and probably had already accurately guessed Shippou was a demon) and led Heiji away. Only once he sensed them out of hearing range did Inuyasha turn to Shippou.

"I didn't die. I came here, t' Kagome's world, and th' well won't let me back." He conveniently left out the fact that it was his own fault he couldn't go back. He wouldn't accept that just yet.

"This is Kagome's time? Sweet," Shippou grinned. "I'll get to see her again!" he did a little cheering dance, almost as if he hadn't grown at all in the past five hundred years. Then, as if remembering something, he stopped and looked at the stationary inu-hanyou. "Have you ever heard of the Youkai War?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No," he said.

Shippou's face turned grave. "Then you don't know…"

"Know what?" Inuyasha asked.

Shippou looked away sadly. "The youkai are dead; all of us save for a select handful. The miko that attacked us that night when you told me to run… they gathered followers and for a while, they went around sealing youkai left and right. When they tired of sealing us, they aimed to kill. They sealed or killed anything with youkai blood, and anyone who associated themselves with youkai."

The news hit Inuyasha like a rock to the face. The problem was, he already knew this. On some subconscious level, he had known the miko would do that. He didn't know what to say to that, so he simply turned and left, unable to even formulate a goodbye. He couldn't go to Kagome now; he was to blame for this. Knowing what he knew, how could he face her?

Shippou tried to call out, telling him there was more, but he couldn't listen to it. He didn't want to know what else he screwed up by not being there. He didn't know where he would go, but he didn't want to be around people at the moment.

xXx

Her rude awakening was to be dragged from her bed at quarter-to-five and thrown onto the floor. It didn't make her happy and at first she used her minimal strength to fight back. Her muscles were weak, however, and didn't enjoy the idea of any form of usage despite the abuse they had to bear without defending.

Her mind screamed for her body to move, but her body yelled right back that it didn't want to. Sesshoumaru kicked her across the room into the bare wall and she slumped onto the floor in a heap. "You will be up at four to make breakfast from now on," he hissed.

She nodded in hopes that agreeing with him would placate him. He stared coldly at her for another long minute before sniffing haughtily. "Well?"

Kagome struggled to her feet with the realization that he wanted her to be cooking _now_. She went into the kitchen and searched the fridge for food, finding scant supplies. She was able to cook eggs and bacon and toast though, and presented it to him. He ate it, although he kept delivering comments on how horrible it was throughout his meal.

He did state he wouldn't eat it, if he weren't in such a hurry. He also said that she would be back at the apartment at lunch time to cook him food—and she would bring the specified groceries as well. When he left her there, leaving the apartment entirely, she sighed in relief and struggled to where her school things were dumped unceremoniously in the bedroom that was now her prison.

She took the new school uniform to the bathroom and disrobed, taking off all the bandages. Her body was littered in bruises and cuts, some blacker than others. A shower later and she had found bandages under the cupboard. She bandaged up the worst injuries, her hand being one of them, but as it was her right hand and she would need it to write, she carefully bandaged each finger individually.

A glance at herself in the mirror after she'd dressed showed her a dangerous black eye, a swollen lip and cheek, and a nasty cut on each brow. The apartment of course had no makeup, but she was able to arrange her hair in a way that covered the black eye, though it would look a little odd and hinder her sight.

She knew she had to do as he said; he held her family hostage and could at any moment take the Hattori's, which she could not permit. She packed her things into the black messenger bag and got ready with a spark of determination in her heart. She was the only one who could stand up to this demon. Without Inuyasha, she had to believe she stood a chance. If she didn't have that, she wouldn't have anything.

The sleeves of the blouse and jacket to the uniform were long, and the skirt went down to below her knees unlike her old school uniform. Most of the bruises and cuts were automatically covered, and the knee-high stockings took care of anything below the knees.

Still, she wasn't ready to face the day. She left the apartment, a feeling of unease washing over her; she would have to face Heiji. She didn't want to face him. It took only a few seconds for her to figure out her location in comparison to home. Tokyo was a giant city, true, but she knew it and took pride in that knowledge.

She made it to school at seven, intent to avoid Heiji if at all possible. She found her homeroom with the help of the office assistants and some early riser students, and entered. Her homeroom teacher, according to her schedule was Yasui-sensei, was in the room. Kagome approached the woman, noting that not many people were there yet. Homeroom wouldn't start until seven-thirty though so she wasn't surprised.

"Um, Yasui-sensei?" Kagome inquired.

The woman looked up from her grading and smiled pleasantly. "Yes, dear?"

"I'm Kagome. Higurashi, Kagome. I'm, um, a new transfer. Is there assigned seating?"

Yasui-sensei noticed immediately Kagome's slightly battered appearance. She was the type who took such things very seriously, but knew at the same time that it couldn't be jumped to conclusions. Sometimes injuries really were obtained innocently, but other times, the circumstances were much less circumstantial.

She returned politely with the response, "I have no assigned seating. It is first come, first serve." Kagome thanked the teacher. "I would just ask you to save the first row open." Kagome nodded and went to take a seat near the back, a seat by the windows. She was relieved to sit down and rest her weary self.

It wasn't until just before lunch that Kagome's schedule clashed with Heiji's and she had math with him. When she was introduced to the class and given an assigned seat to sit at, she found herself too froze to move. She saw her brother's face, and panicked as the image of Sesshoumaru taking her mother away came to her mind.

To the teacher's disapproval, Kagome left the room and raced through the halls, her messenger bag over her shoulder. She lost herself in the maze of corridors that was the school, and eventually found herself on the roof of the building. She couldn't breathe. Her heart was straining in her chest, wanting to burst free from its caged prison.

Just as she wanted to be free of Sesshoumaru. She wanted to kill him. She wanted to exact vengeance upon him for ever daring to touch Souta and her mother. She couldn't face Heiji. She could _not_ sit there and smile as she lied through her teeth about where Souta was… about where her mother was…

She threw herself to the rail of the roof, knowing she could end it, but also knowing that doing it would be a cowards' way out. So she stood there and sobbed brokenly at what her life had become. What would she give for a way out? What would she give to be able to purify Sesshoumaru to hell? Anything. Everything.

But the way out was the wrong way, and her power was gone.

She was useless. Inuyasha would call her useless…

She heard footsteps behind her and thought it was Heiji. She thought he followed her. She didn't turn to him. She couldn't face him as she told him what she knew had to be said. "Mama and Souta went to Grandpa's summer retreat up north." She was lying through her teeth. It would have been better to send them up there the instant she knew Sesshoumaru could get into her home.

"Kagome…" the voice wasn't one she expected. She whirled around; there he stood, just five feet away from her. She barely noticed him wearing the school uniform. Her eyes fell on his face and stayed there until she was clenching her fists and squeezing her eyes shut, willing away her nightmare.

"Inuyasha…" she said in response, but could say no more. She could feel Sesshoumaru's eyes on her, even then as she was on the roof of a school building. She didn't want those eyes following her. Those molten gold eyes, so similar to the one she fell in love with.

She flew across the short distance between them and knew he was surprised that she would hug him. He never was a 'touchy-huggy' type of person, but he didn't shove her away either and that encouraged her. She squeezed him as though he were her lifeline, sobbing into his light blue dress shirt. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace.

He could only guess at what was wrong, but knew it had something to do with why she so strongly smelled like Sesshoumaru. His more primal side wanted to wash away that scent and replace it with his own. It screamed, 'Mine!' His logical half, however, knew she was her own person, and knew how she hated to be viewed as anything other than that.

He returned the embrace tentatively. The only one he'd ever embraced like this was Kikyou, and he could say with a certainty that his feelings for Kikyou had never been like how he felt for Kagome. Kagome was his best friend. She liked him how he was. He didn't have to change for her, and she never thought less of him for his night of weakness.

And while she never thought less of him for his night of weakness, she also didn't think _better_ of him for it. She simply said it was a part of who he was, and she liked how he was. He hated himself for it, for being only half-breed. His half-brother thought him pathetic for his human half.

Inuyasha tightened the embrace, wanting the world to pause, leaving just the two of them in that moment in time. The very sight of her crying sent his youkai half screaming for blood. It wanted to correct the wrong. His human side wanted to as well, but in a less violent manner. He realized his youkai half had never reacted the way it did to Kagome when he thought he loved Kikyou. Though they both shared an almost identical face, his youkai side never cared for Kikyou.

"Kagome," he said, pulling away only enough that he could carefully tilt her head so he could look at her. He raked her hair out of her face, and his youkai half only got angrier at the wounds now visible. He wasn't aware of it, but crimson flashed through his eyes.

Kagome raised her bandaged hand to the side of his face, tears swimming in her eyes. "Don't go berserk on me now," Kagome whispered. She couldn't even tell him. Telling him, after seeing his clear anger at looking at the bruises, and with the intuition that her mother and brother also meant something to Inuyasha… it would push him over the edge and without her miko powers, she didn't think she could stop him.

She grabbed a lock of his hair and gently tugged on it until he lowered his head, and she stood on her toes to meet him, pressing her lips to his for the kiss she _promised_ herself she would have if she only survived. It didn't matter that her body felt like collapsing. She was safe in his arms. And then he was returning the kiss and she didn't have to stand on her toes anymore. He held her in his strong arms, and for a moment, Sesshoumaru ceased to exist.

Inuyasha took those worries away. He soothed the coiling ball of rage that threatened to send her to insanity. It all happened very quickly, but still it happened. And Inuyasha didn't care that someone had invaded the roof where he went to skip math and a teacher who would cut his long hair.

He knew someone was there, but all that mattered was the woman in his arms. It was all he cared for, and he found that to kiss her soothed the screaming youkai half of him. It would boldly state, 'Mine!' over and over. It was laying claim to her, erasing some of its worries over Sesshoumaru's scent on what it knew to be his.

"Kagome," the voice belonged to Heiji. Inuyasha was disappointed when Kagome pulled away from him, and his youkai half screamed for him to act vengeance on Heiji. He didn't act on it, but he also didn't let Kagome leave his embrace entirely. He kept his arms wrapped around her form, and she seemed grateful, since most her weight was leaning on him at that time. She could barely move, he noted. If it was Sesshoumaru's fault, that was just one more reason to kill his half-brother.

Heiji wasn't pleased after coming up onto the roof and finding his sister kissing the one that he and Shin'ichi were positive was the thief stealing from homes. Where was their proof? The robberies stopped when Inuyasha and Shin'ichi moved into the Kudo residence. There hadn't been a single one since Shin'ichi was around to track Inuyasha's every move.

Of course, last night there had been another robbery. Neither Shin'ichi nor Heiji were around to track Inuyasha. And when Kagome finally looked at Heiji, he was stunned to see the incredible shiner she had. Inuyasha was a dead man if he was the one who did it.

Kagome wondered how to introduce Inuyasha to her brother, but then finally noticed Inuyasha was wearing a school uniform. She looked up at him with confusion. "Why are you," she began, but he glanced down at her.

"I'll explain later," he assured her.

It was a good thing he promised to explain later, as her hand flew to her mouth and she began coughing. Metallic liquid came up with each body wrenching hack, and once she was done, she looked at her hand to find blood on it. Frightened of whatever unknown thing was happening to her, she looked from Inuyasha to Heiji for answers.

Inuyasha had none. Heiji had even less. Kagome felt as if all energy was seeping out of her body at that very minute, and yet her body started to seize up. "Get the healer!" Inuyasha told Heiji, forgetting to use the modern term 'nurse'. Heiji understood either way, and took off as Inuyasha attempted to hold her steady.

When people came to take Kagome to what Inuyasha soon learned was a hospital—a place where the sick and injured go—he insisted on going with, but Heiji told him he could not go because he wasn't family. Heiji went, claiming to be her brother. Inuyasha growled over being left behind.

xXx

Kagome woke up barely a few hours later. She could hear beeping noises and quiet voices. Someone was holding her hands, but her vision was too blurred to see clearly who it was. She looked in the direction of the hand-holder anyway, and her first thought came out of her exhausted throat. "Inuyasha?"

"No, it's me, Heiji…" her brother said. "Pa an' ma were here, but pa had t' go back t' work, an' ma went t' see if ya ma's at th' shrine. No one can contact her by phone."

Kagome already knew the effort was fruitless. "What's wrong with me?" she asked.

"Th' doc says it's just a real bad cold, but ya gonna stay at th' hospital t'night for a few more tests."

She felt sleep claiming her once more, but managed to utter, "I want Inuyasha," before falling out of consciousness. Heiji didn't like whatever was going on. Apparently his sister had been sick off and on for the past four years, and he had thought that was all a joke. 'Kagome the Sick' was a silly little nickname, but now seeing her as she was; he was more apt to believe the possibility that her immune system really did have some dangerous failing.

Still, after the examinations and tests done on her, the doctor had gone to their father and told him of the extensive injuries she'd sustained. It had been questioned whether or not Toshiro was the one to give her those injuries but such an idea was treason, surely. Toshiro never lay a finger on any of his three children in anger, ever.

If it was Inuyasha, he would certainly pay. However, Heiji didn't tell Toshiro about Inuyasha just yet. He wanted to confront him on his own terms. It came to mind the bullies in the park, when she said a bunch of bullies had beaten her up. He quickly tossed aside the thought, as she would never lie to him, he was sure.

After school was over, Heiji was sure Inuyasha would manage to find his way to the hospital Kagome was at, and he wasn't disappointed. Inuyasha managed to sneak past nursing stations with uncanny luck and found Kagome's room, where he entered and stared at Kagome. Conan wasn't with him at that time.

It was just Heiji, Inuyasha, and an unconscious Kagome. "Are you responsible?" Heiji said in a low voice.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "No," he said simply. "I ain't seen Kagome for a while now, an' last I saw her, she was fine." Her scent, so intertwined with Sesshoumaru's, still set Inuyasha's blood on fire. His youkai half was increasingly possessive of her as she was the only thing he had left in this world. It wasn't including Shippou, his logical half pointed out.

Heiji wondered just how exactly Kagome knew Inuyasha, and he wanted answers now, but he wanted to hear them from her not him so at present, he kept silent. He thought for a minute that this might just be the 'best friend' Inuyasha was going to see yesterday. If that was true, then Inuyasha just lied—openly. Either way, he would have his answers.

Jamming his hands in his pockets, Inuyasha moved to the far side of the room where he wouldn't be in the way or disturb anything. Those eerie golden orbs watched Kagome's face unblinkingly, and for a moment Heiji thought about asking him to leave. That thought was thrown out the window as quick as it came. If he left, and Shin'ichi wasn't around to watch him, someone might fall victim to robbery.

He had no choice but to let him stay.

"How're ya related t' my Kagome?" Inuyasha didn't even realize he'd said 'my Kagome'.

Heiji took his sister's bandaged hand in his and held it carefully. "She's my sissy." It was all he gave for an explanation but he didn't need to say any more for Inuyasha to understand.

"Do th' healers know what's wrong?" Something else was bothering Inuyasha about Kagome. Her scent—there was no magic. She seemed more human. It was puzzling, and something in the back of his mind nagged at him to remember, but he couldn't put the pieces together.

"Some o' her injuries are infected, an' she's got a real bad cold, but they can't explain th' seizure."

xXx

Shin'ichi grumbled about being left behind. It was a Tuesday, and his parents kept insisting he stick with Inuyasha. They knew he was actually nineteen, so why in this form did they insist on treating him like he was so young? He'd gone through second through fifth grade twice now, or at least, he was in fifth grade for his second time.

Generally people didn't have to redo those grades once they'd passed. And he was sure his parents didn't even know the rather odd circumstances to Inuyasha's existence, such as him being a hanyou. It was very difficult to accept, but after being transformed into a little kid, it didn't faze him like it should have.

The truly unnerving thing to accept was Inuyasha transforming into a massive dog. He'd felt the transformation. He'd ridden on Inuyasha's back. He'd seen Inuyasha transformed. He didn't think he wanted to see it again.

Shin'ichi stared openly at his teacher, Shippou Daone. Now that he looked closely, there was something odd about Daone-sensei. He hadn't noticed it before, but Daone-sensei hadn't aged a single day in looks since the _last_ time Shin'ichi had him as a teacher.

Could he be a hanyou too? Or maybe even youkai?

Daone-sensei stood up and started packing his work-bag up with the things he would need for the evening. "Where's Mori?" Daone-sensei asked with worry. It hadn't been too long since Shin'ichi had been being picked up by Ran every day. "She's getting later every day, it seems."

Shin'ichi sighed. "Ran's sick now. Inuyasha's been picking me up after school, but I have no clue where he is now." It would be a lot easier if his teacher would just let him go. He did know how to take care of himself.

"Well," Shippou scratched the back of his neck as he picked up his school bag. He did wonder what Inuyasha had to do with Conan Edogawa, but figured that to be a story for a later date. "I do have an appointment to get to and I'm late already." Shin'ichi thought, 'Oh, this is a burden on the teachers too…' He hadn't made that connection.

"I can go home alone," Shin'ichi assured him. "You don't have to wait. I know the way."

"No, no." Shippou sent a scolding glare at the boy. As if he'd let him go on his own. He could lose his job for that, and he'd held this one steady for almost ten years. "It's not a particularly important meeting. If you don't mind going, I can walk you to the Mori's place."

Figuring it to be his only ticket out of the imprisonment of the elementary school, he agreed to go. Shin'ichi grabbed his bag and fell into step with his teacher and they left the school to the janitors. "So where is this meeting, Sensei?" Shin'ichi asked in his most Conan-like voice.

He watched a grin cross his teacher's face. "At the Daone Museum, of course." Something clicked in Shin'ichi's brain.

"The Daone Museum? Daone-sensei, are you in any relation to the Daone Museum?"

"The curator reared me from a kit." What an odd way to describe a child, Shin'ichi thought. "I'm going to talk to him today about taking the class on a field trip to the museum. So how do you know Inuyasha?" The teacher's question startled Shin'ichi into brooding silence for a moment.

"My aunt and uncle adopted him four years ago, I guess." Shin'ichi heard the disbelief in his own voice and thought, 'I don't believe that! There's some other reason Inuyasha is at our home.' "What about you? You seem to know him, Daone-sensei."

"Oh, it's a long story. The two of us go _way_ back into the bowels of history where we met on the road."

Shin'ichi decided to be bold and venture out on a limb. "Are you a hanyou too?"

The question startled Shippou into stopping and staring at the boy before he grinned ruefully. "I should have known the Great Detective of the East would find that out. But no, I'm no hanyou." It was Shin'ichi's turn to be stunned into silence. _His teacher knew_. "I'm youkai. Kitsune youkai, and Inuyasha is an inu-hanyou. He and his pack took me in as an orphan several centuries ago."

It was strange to be talking like that with his teacher. To talk so casually about youkai and hanyou, and to learn that Inuyasha was several centuries old… it seemed so weird. Why would Inuyasha need adopting if he was that old, and why would he bother going to school?

"So wait, then this curator is Inuyasha? Or someone in his pack?" Shin'ichi was assuming a 'pack' was like family, and hoping he was right.

"No, the guy we're going to see has been Inuyasha's rival even after we thought he died. He's always done things, saying he had to do it in order to be better than Inuyasha. They both fought for the same girl, they both fought to see who was stronger, that sort of thing." Shippou had known all along that Conan Edogawa was Shin'ichi Kudo. He'd recognized the scent immediately and the face after that. He hadn't said anything about it, but he did know.

Aside from that small fact that if Conan Edogawa really was a fifth grader, he'd be a boy genius, "Conan" acted exactly as "Shin'ichi" did. Shippou felt bad about having to treat Shin'ichi like a child—he never liked being treated that way as a kit—but there was no help for it. It was out of his power, with a killer loose in the city and parents breathing down the necks of school councils.

Curious as he'd ever been, Shin'ichi asked, "Why would you think Inuyasha died?"

Shippou didn't mind answering the questions Shin'ichi proposed. He'd never been one to hide the fact that youkai existed; he stuffed his shoes to make them fit on fox-feet, but other than that, his pointed ears remained free to be questioned by everyone. He simply told the questioners he was born that way and questions halted at that.

People no longer questioned whether or not demons existed. They simply believed that youkai and hanyou were old wives tales told to children to keep them in their beds. A youkai was a 'defective human' in the eyes of 'normal humans'. Slowly the remaining youkai and hanyou were being able to reveal themselves, though there were incredibly few.

He did wish Inuyasha had stayed to hear what else he'd had to say, because Shippou had the feeling that he thought it to be his fault that the Youkai War took place. Sure, Shippou could have said it all differently, but at the time… he'd only blurted it out. He was usually better at telling stories, but seeing Inuyasha sent him into speechlessness.

And then Inuyasha walked away, and heard nothing more.

"Something no human will ever talk about is the Youkai War," Shippou began in answer to Shin'ichi's question. "It began as a single miko started traveling with the quest of sealing everything to do with youkai. She gathered followers very quickly. Inuyasha's pack wasn't the normal type. There was only six of us; a hanyou leader, a youkai kit, an untrained miko, a taijiya and her neko-youkai, and a lecherous houshi. The miko often traveled home, and during one of her trips home, we stopped to rest."

Shin'ichi saw the museum at the end of the stretch of road they were following. "And?" he inquired. He wasn't at all afraid to know that the teacher knew he was himself. If the teacher wanted to give him up, or was a part of the black syndicate, he had reason to believe he would be dead already.

"Inuyasha went to see her, and while he was gone, our camp was invaded by six miko who killed the neko, taijiya, and houshi with sealing spelled arrows. The neko was purified by the spell, never again to be revived. Inuyasha came back, but he didn't have our miko. I'd climbed a tree, so the miko hadn't seen me yet. I went to tell Inuyasha what happened, but then he too was killed, pinned with a sealing spell to a tree. He fought it at first, but the arrow meant for me hit him and finished him off."

"He's alive now!" Shin'ichi said in confusion. If someone was dead, how could they be alive? People didn't just _die_ and _revive_.

"Someone unsealed him. He was revived by an old miko who we all knew and looked to for guidance. She was killed for associating with youkai. We thought the miko purified him rather than sealing him again. Just days after that the Youkai War broke out."

Shippou shuddered at the memories. Sure, he'd seen fighting, but this was a fight for survival against all odds. One hit by a miko and a person could die. There were no second chances, and there was no recovery from the injury.

"So, was it Inuyasha's apparent death that started the war?" Shin'ichi questioned.

"Far from it." Shippou held open the door to the museum. "Come, I will show you whose death started the war." He led Shin'ichi to the elevator and inserted a key into the button pad, turning it before pushing the top floor; 29. Once they got off the elevator, Shin'ichi saw a place unlike any museum he'd ever gone to, and at the same time, it was very like them.

There were displays of people standing, people kneeling, people sleeping. They all looked like flesh, which confused him. There were no poster backgrounds, and no fake trees. There was nothing but the people. All of them looked like they were sleeping peacefully, even one woman who looked about to strike out with a sword. One thing was for sure; they did not look like mannequins.

He followed his teacher through the maze that made the floor of displays, until they reached a display at the far back. In it was a woman probably his and Ran's age, wearing the red and white uniform he'd seen worn at shrines. She stood with her hands folded, as though she were about to chant something. Shin'ichi noticed a tiny hole in her haori, about where her heart was.

Behind her, as if she were protecting it, was a kneeling man with maroon stripes on his cheeks and a blue crescent on his forehead. He had silver hair that was incredibly long and pooled around him. He looked to have only one hand, and he was leaning on it with his palm flat to the ground. At one point, he appeared to have been a very well-kempt person, with much care for his appearance. Now he was layered in dust like every other one of the almost-mannequins, and his clothes had a dangerously brittle look as if one touch would make it crumble.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, the Lord of the West. He took in a young human girl who he later found out was a miko. From what the stories tell, she was left at a human village to be trained. He must have gone to see how she was doing and a miko sealed him. She defended him against the miko who would seal him, and the miko killed her for her efforts." Shippou explained.

Shin'ichi looked at the two with amazement. Weren't miko and youkai supposed to be sworn enemies in all the child's tales? But she would defend him? On another note, Daone-sensei said that his and Inuyasha's companions were a miko, a taijiya, and a houshi. They would _all_ be a hanyou and youkai's enemies.

"So, his death started the war?" Shin'ichi asked, for clarification. He was already sure it was.

Shippou nodded in assent. "Yes… When his mother found out of his death, she took over his duties, as he had no heir. She spared no compassion for him, or his death, saying he had wasted it on a human miko, but she fought to clear the disgrace she said his death brought."

Shippou was surprised at how fast the boy was. Before he could stop Shin'ichi, he had climbed over the guard rail and walked onto the display. "What are you doing?" Shippou asked, worried the boy would touch something.

Shin'ichi had more sense than that, but he'd seen something on the ground beneath the youkai. He carefully peered at it, taking a miniscule flashlight from his pocket and turning it on to shine at the items beneath the youkai. The items looked like ribbons, and each had something written on an end. There were five in all. "Death—Sight—Speech—Magic—Movement."

"Huh," Shin'ichi said curiously as he went to look at the woman closer. There were no ribbons surrounding her. He returned to Shippou, confusion marring his features as he put his flashlight away. "Are these…real?" he asked. They looked even more real when close up.

Shippou nodded grimly. "They are. And there's a chance soon that they will be able to be revived… as I may have found a miko to remove the seals."

"You brought a _human_ in here, dumb shit!" yelled a man as he stalked up on the two of them. Shippou turned to Kouga and grabbed Shin'ichi by the collar, hopping away as Kouga swung a fist at his face.

Shippou grinned as Kouga became tangled up in the guard rail for a few seconds. He set Shin'ichi down. "So hasty, Kouga. This human belongs to Inuyasha, and you'll get all annoyed at me for bringing him in?"

Shin'ichi scowled at being referred to as 'Inuyasha's belonging' but noticed that the referral seemed to calm the newcomer down greatly. He stood up and crossed his arms over his broad chest in disapproval. He decided for now to keep his mouth shut.

"Inuyasha can't have pack _or_ property—he's dead!" Kouga insisted.

Shippou shook his head. "Saw him myself just yesterday. But you'll have to ask him how he's alive. It's not for me to say. Although talking to him, I found out our favorite little miko's out and about these places, so convincing _her_ to come here shouldn't be too hard."

Kouga's jaw dropped. "Kagome!" he hissed. Shin'ichi wasn't blind to the fact that the miko's name was Kagome, _or_ that Inuyasha had once mentioned a girl named Kagome, _or_ the fact that Heiji's sister was named Kagome. Three Kagome's was too many, but was it possible for all three to be the same? Well, stranger things had happened, such as nineteen-year-olds being dropped to the age of a fifth grader.

"Yup! And I'll let you sniff out Inuyasha for _that_ story too. Anyway, can I bring my class here for a field trip, please?" Shin'ichi wouldn't believe it if he hadn't seen it himself, but Shippou transformed into a tiny little half-boy-half-fox creature and stared up at Kouga with wide green eyes. It set in the reality that this youkai business was _real._ He saw his fifth grade teacher standing there in his same outfit, or at least, being dwarfed by the shirt anyway.

"No. Every god damn year, no! I won't let humans come in here. You're lucky this one isn't dead." Kouga glared at Shin'ichi. "If you're lying about Inuyasha, I'll slice you to mince and feed you to my pack." Not sure which one of them he was talking about 'slicing to mince', Shin'ichi was remarkably calm under the threat.

Shippou transformed back into his bigger self and pouted. "You're cold."

"Not as cold as you'll be as a corpse, I swear it on my mother's grave!"

Shippou tapped his lip. "You know, I think you're just pissed over the whole Jyiana business, and finding out Kagome's here. You swore to Jyiana you'd take only one mate, and poof, Kagome appears and _you can't have her_." Shippou grinned. "I think that's funny."

"Dumb shit," Kouga grumbled. "Lady Jyiana is a powerful mate."

"But she's a dog," Shippou murmured thoughtfully.

Shin'ichi blinked and his head went back and forth from Kouga to Shippou. It was a lot to process. Perhaps several Kagome's later he would understand? Or moments, as it were…

Nope, it still wasn't coming to him. What was odd though, was that this Kouga guy was tossing death threats at Shin'ichi's teacher, and Shin'ichi had no idea what to do about that. Being the 'throw people in jail' type of person, Shin'ichi was at a loss, since his teacher appeared as though this happened on a normal daily basis.

Shippou beamed at Kouga and then said with that smirk placed firmly on his face, "And you know what that means, if Inuyasha never died? Inuyasha would have been the heir, so by right, it's _all_ his…" Kouga's jaw dropped, and Shin'ichi had _no_ clue what unspoken words were passing between them.

* * *

End.


	20. Bad Madness

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

* * *

_

Chapter Twenty

The next day, Heiji didn't go to school. Shizuka didn't bother him about going to school—she didn't go to work either. She wouldn't admit it, but the 'evil step-mother' was worried, and Heiji could see this. She fiddled around in the kitchen, cooking sweets and casseroles she knew to be among Kagome's favorites.

Shizuka might have appeared to be unusually harsh toned to Kagome, but it was all in trying to teach Kagome to be a proper woman. Shizuka had been unable to get a hold of Ai.

The doctors let them take Kagome home when she woke up the next day and gave her antibiotics for her sickness. Once they got home Heiji carried her upstairs her small form cradled in his strong arms, and she fell asleep almost right away.

He wasn't sure what happened to Inuyasha the night before at the hospital. He'd said he was going to the Kudo residence, but Heiji didn't want to leave Kagome's side to call Shin'ichi and make sure. If there was something seriously wrong with Kagome, or something came up that the doctors needed to talk to family about, he was going to be there.

But now, with the doctors certain it was just a really bad cold and a nasty infection, all they had to do was keep her on the antibiotics and rub a prescription lotion on the cuts before bandaging them. What really started making him angry was how, even in her sleep, she began calling out for Inuyasha, and she would constantly curl up as if she were in pain.

Toshiro wanted to stay home, but a killer was on the loose in the city and he couldn't afford to take the time off. He was forced to leave Kagome's side that afternoon however. A call from Shin'ichi drug him away from her bedside. Something was going on with Ran, and he needed help _now_.

With firm, unnecessary instructions to his mother to keep an eye on Kagome, he took off for the Mori residence. He heard the screaming even on the sidewalk outside and flew up the stairs and through the front door. Inside, Ran was curled up in a corner of the living room, naked, holding her head as though she would like to tear her hair out. She was the one screaming.

Eri, Ran's mother, was nervously standing by, wringing her hands. Kogoro was sober, looking on in confusion. Conan and Inuyasha were both there, Conan was standing as close to Ran as he could, and every time he inched closer, Ran would lash out.

The only truly calm one there was the golden eyed boy who stood decked out in a red haori and hakama, his hair loose rather than held back in a tie, and as usual a white bandana on his head. Unsure what to do, Heiji moved over by Kogoro. "What happened?" he asked.

Kogoro looked at him and shook his head. "No clue. We thought she was gettin' better. Then the brat comes to see her and she wakes up screaming."

Ran looked up at all of them with hate filled eerie yellow eyes. It still sent shivers down Heiji's spine to see those eyes; no pupil, no whites, and no iris. She seemed to curl further into herself. Heiji watched Inuyasha step forward, slowly, and crouch a few feet away. Inuyasha seemed strangely confident.

Inuyasha had seen this before. He'd watched Kikyou go through something similar to this, where she became a nise-hanyou, and then a nise-youkai. He hadn't been aware that there were others like Kagome alive, thinking her to be a special case due to her having Kikyou's soul.

Clearly that wasn't the case. He'd come with Conan when the kid asked only because Yukiko had told Conan to stick with Inuyasha after school. Inuyasha had every intention to leave the kid there and go to the hospital and see Kagome again rather than going to the martial arts club. Now? He couldn't. The girl was looking at the world from a strange new prospective and she wasn't processing it very well. Her body language screamed 'flight' but she was backed into a corner.

"Conan, get hot water. Really hot water," Inuyasha said. "A whole tub o' it." He spoke in a soft voice, aware her hearing would be sensitive. Her screams died down and she stared at Inuyasha with a paranoid light in her eyes. Inuyasha glanced back at the girl's parents. He needed to get rid of them. His eyes went to Heiji. He knew Conan called him about ten minutes earlier.

"Hattori, how good are ya at catchin'?" he asked. Heiji looked at him with confusion and then Inuyasha moved his eyes back to Eri. He pulled at his magic inside of him, creating a burst of wind to a pressure point on her. The result was her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell unconscious. She slumped to the ground. Inuyasha did the same to Kogoro, knowing he would never have found as many ways to use his magic as he had since coming to Kagome's world permanently.

"Apparently no good," Inuyasha muttered. He heard the bath running, and Heiji questioned what was going on. Inuyasha turned back to the nise-hanyou. "Get clean cloth, Heiji. A lot of it." Inuyasha ordered. "Ya get a full explanation _after_ if ya do what I tell ya."

Unsatisfied, but realizing he would get no more, Heiji went to scrounge the kitchen for dish cloths or towels. Left alone in the living room with two unconscious adults and a nise-hanyou, Inuyasha locked eyes with Ran and crawled forward. She was sniffing the air tentatively.

The paranoia in her eyes disappeared as he came close to her, within arms reach. "Me," she whispered, barely knowing how to use her voice. "You, me," he grinned slightly, encouraging her. 'Oh, hell, how did I ever get into this sort of shit?' he demanded of himself. But even though he wondered why he bothered helping, he knew he couldn't just leave it be.

She deserved a chance, and he knew the animal instinct of survival utilized in Kagome's world would _not_ be socially acceptable. If she was allowed to take off, she'd probably get killed, or kill something that wasn't supposed to die. Her mind was reverting to the primal youkai state, rather than a rationalized state for survival. She was essentially a lesser youkai in this manner, only one thing on her mind. 'Kill.' But she would not do it if she wasn't provoked or didn't feel threatened.

He hoped to help her feel safe.

He rested a hand on either side of her hips, keeping his eyes locked with hers. He knew both Heiji and Conan had accomplished their tasks and had come back into the living room. Both were watching in confusion, yet at the same time Conan was livid. Ran brought her arm up to Inuyasha's hair, and he let her peel away the bandana.

Inuyasha could _smell_ Heiji's surprise when his ears became visible. She held the white cloth in her hands and it seemed to become her safety zone. She rubbed it on her face and lips, smelling it and smiling rather than glaring around the room in paranoia.

Inuyasha carefully placed a hand on her hip and one around her lower back, lifting her up onto his hip as though she were a child, cursing himself for involving himself in the affairs of idiots who know nothing of miko, hanyou, youkai, and magic. None of them knew, why would they care?

Conan stalked after him, and Heiji stood blindly for a moment before realizing they were headed for the bathroom. He took long steps to catch up and entered to find the strange dog-eared boy was coaxing Ran into getting into the hot water. She looked at the steam and hissed, not wanting to go in.

Annoyed, Inuyasha took the bandana and threw it into the water. She dove after it, creating a huge splash and soaking everyone, but she came back up with the bandana and hugged it to her even as she coughed up water. "Me!" she cheered, rubbing the bandana on her cheek.

Inuyasha knelt next to the water and held his hand behind him for the cloths. "Hattori," he said in question, and felt a handful of cloths pressed into his hand. He made a pile on the floor and took one, dipping it in the water. Gently he took one of her arms. It was filthy with weeks of sickness-induced sweat. She had apparently not been conscious or healthy enough to bathe, and no one would help her.

Now, his sensitive nose demanded she bathe or he'd vomit. So he started scrubbing her with the cloth. Conan watched and seethed, and Inuyasha didn't understand what his problem with him was. Still, he _did_ know possessiveness when he saw it. He stood back and said, "Conan, jus' keep cleanin' 'er. Be real careful."

Inuyasha grabbed Heiji's arm and dragged him out of the bathroom. "Are ya sure t' leave 'em alone?"

"She'll behave," Inuyasha assured the other boy.

Heiji growled, "Good. Now if ya don't mind, ya got dog ears!"

"Long story short," Inuyasha began, "Anything ya know 'bout youkai is all true. An' ya girl, there, is a miko. I donno how, but miko go through this change before their twentieth year. Eventually they go back t' themselves, or they get killed before that can happen."

Heiji frowned at Inuyasha. "Uh, huh…" he muttered.

Inuyasha blinked innocently at Heiji. Both of them heard a loud splash and gurgling in the water. They hurried into the bathroom again, and Inuyasha went for Ran as Heiji went for Conan. Ran was trying to drown the kid, her eyes filled with dangerous hate.

Inuyasha managed to pull her away from him, pinning her arms to her sides as he held her and dragged her out of the tub. Conan got out of the water, coughing and spitting liquid, soaked from head to foot. Heiji went to help Conan out of the tub, but Conan smacked Heiji's hand away in a fit of rage.

"RAN! STOP THIS MADNESS!" Conan growled, his voice sounding deeper and deeper with each passing second. Ran stopped struggling instantly and cocked her head in question to her name. She looked in the general direction of Conan, but without pupils or irises, knowing exactly what she looked at was hard.

"Shin…" Ran murmured thoughtfully, practicing the word on her tongue as if unsure it was the right one. "Shin…" she tried again, but it was clear there was something more to the word.

Conan stood up, dripping water. "If you do not calm down, then gods help you I will make you!" With each word he said, Inuyasha felt a resonating pulse of magic inside the boy. It felt like the pulse of a miko seal, and after being sealed three times, Inuyasha knew what it felt like. The seal's power faded a little, and Conan bent, holding his stomach.

In just a few seconds, there was a tearing noise, that of cloth ripping, and Conan _grew_. Conan's heated emotions were pushing back the seal, leaving behind the real voice behind the mask. Inuyasha had known he was a lot older than he pretended to be.

Left behind was shredded clothes and a young man likely the same age as Heiji. Shin'ichi looked at his hands in amazement. He was himself again, and he wasn't sure how that worked out. But he was grateful. He didn't dare question it. For a few seconds, he'd had extreme pain in his stomach, and then felt the pressure of clothes constricting him.

Ran began struggling with a new fervor, however, the instant Shin'ichi appeared. She slipped out of Inuyasha's hold and launched herself at Shin'ichi, sending them both sprawling in the tub. Inuyasha watched as she hugged and nuzzled him, completely unaware that both of them were naked while the boy who was once Conan blushed furiously at their intimacy.

"Shin'ichi," she purred.

Heiji wasn't sure what to make of this new adjustment. There was a yellow eyed woman half-molesting Shin'ichi. What to say to that? "Well, I've officially seen it all," Heiji grumbled and turned his back to the sight.

Inuyasha sighed. "Well, ya gonna have t' stay by her now." He told Shin'ichi. "I doubt she's gonna berserk on ya. Maybe rape ya," he thought aloud, much to Shin'ichi's discomfort. Inuyasha grinned. "Ya be okay. Jus' careful. Not sure how long the parents are out for."

Inuyasha watched as Shin'ichi sighed in resignation. 'I really need to stop involving myself… all this is, is a lot of trouble,' Inuyasha thought. 'Next time there's a berserk miko, I'll lop her head off and save myself a lot of hassle…'

Inuyasha left the bathroom to check on the girl's parents and make sure his magic didn't kill them. He supposed he should have checked immediately, but it was an empty worry as they were simply sleeping in crumpled heaps on the floor.

"You know what ya doin'," Heiji muttered from a place nearby.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I guess ya can say I've met my fair share o' crazy women." He felt his ears twitching. They all liked the ears. "Anyway, I'm gonna stick 'round a bit longer, see if Con—Shin'ichi needs help." That was going to be confusing. So his new adopted brother was also his cousin?

Heiji nodded and left in as much of a hurry as he'd come and Inuyasha carried the two adults into the master bedroom, setting them on opposing sides of the bed. Once that was done, he went back into the bathroom, setting himself down on the floor there.

"She simply konked out," Inuyasha guessed that meant 'fell asleep'. "I don't know what to do now." Shin'ichi held Ran in his arms, trying to keep her from slipping into the water. He could barely move. She lay between his legs, her arms around his stomach and her head on his chest.

"Her mind made ya a safe zone." Inuyasha said, hoping Shin'ichi would understand, since he knew no other way to explain it. "She knows no matter what, ya accept her, even if she is a crazy bitch." He got a scathing glare from Shin'ichi at the comment, but Inuyasha didn't retract it. "Like she took my bandana. It was her safe zone, but it didn't last long for her. Ya likely are a more permanent one. She ain't lettin' ya go."

"No kidding," Shin'ichi groaned, struggling to move as she tightened her grip and made breathing very difficult. She was powerful as a human… now as a hanyou, it felt like she was breaking his ribs. And she wasn't even trying, she was simply sleeping.

xXx

By evening, Shin'ichi had managed to get Ran into some clothing and in bed, and he stole some of Kogoro's clothes to simply 'borrow' as he had none of his own and was still himself. Both barefoot as they walked, they trekked back to the Kudo mansion, Shin'ichi's mind on Ran.

Inuyasha assured Shin'ichi that Ran would be okay, but he didn't even know for sure himself. He didn't puzzle over it, or worry himself sick though. He saved that for Shin'ichi, as he was obviously going to do that either way.

Over the next few weeks, Inuyasha was able to forget his own problems (he blamed himself for the result of the Youkai War) while he and the adult version of Shin'ichi made the journey to the Mori residence before school, and then after school again to check on Ran.

Much to Kogoro's dismay, Shin'ichi didn't go to school, although he knew he couldn't. The black syndicate wanted him dead, and if people started seeing him at school, questions would go around. So as Inuyasha went off to school for reasons still unbeknownst to Shin'ichi, he would stay at the Mori residence and help Eri with whatever she needed help with for Ran who was simply quiet.

Kogoro and Eri didn't talk much during those weeks, but it seemed they had chalked Ran's outburst off as a bad dream they both wanted to forget. Kogoro did demand to know where Shin'ichi had been over the last four years, and he gloated for a few minutes about how he was the greatest detective to walk the earth without Shin'ichi to _get in his way_.

But he was still no closer to finding the thief he was searching for.

And then one day, Inuyasha had gone off to school and Eri went shopping, leaving Shin'ichi in charge. Kogoro got a lead on the case and went to follow it up, and Shin'ichi was left alone in the apartment. He was laying casually on Ran's bed next to her as she slept, debating the merits of cutting his nails when she suddenly sat up.

He watched as she turned her eyes on him and watched as the yellow receded into the iris, leaving black pupils, and whites, but her irises were yellow. She said her first full sentence in a long time. "Shin'ichi, you're an ass!" Over the past few weeks, all she had been able to say was, _me_, _you_, _Shin'ichi_, and _mine_. She often said _mine_ in reference to Shin'ichi, which confused him.

Shin'ichi blinked, unsure as to why she would call him an ass. "Uh…" he started.

She stood up, her pink pajama'd form swaying slightly on legs sleepy from disuse. "That's right!" she slammed her fist into her palm with surety. "You're never around. I go to school, you're never there. I call you, you're never home. I have to wait _weeks_ for you to ever call me back. Therefore, you're a big asshole!"

He almost had to shove his fist into his mouth to stop the laughter as she stalked over to her closet and yanked out a school uniform. It was noon already. Did she think it would make a difference if she went to school now?

"Well, I'm here now," Shin'ichi began. She ignored him and left the room. Fifteen minutes later she came out of the bathroom, showered and changed, just rubbing her hair dry. "You know I'm busy on cases." Inuyasha had explained that she likely wouldn't remember anything while she was out of her mind.

"That's just it!" she glared defiantly at him. "I know that." She tossed the towel into her basket and it was as if she hadn't not seen him in four years. He felt a warm feeling in his gut and got up, walking over to where she was dragging her brush through her hair in anger. He wrapped his arms around her, and felt her melt against him. The only thing off about her was her eyes, but he didn't mind them. She didn't seem to notice her eyes.

"Then what are you angry for?" he asked her smelling the soft scent of her shampoo and conditioner. That warm feeling kept growing, and then it started getting painful. He bit his lip, forcing the pain away.

"I'm mad because I never see you!" she pouted. He had to release her and back away, and she turned to look curiously at him. "Oh, so you're leaving now, are you?"

He turned away from her, nodding. "Yeah, I only had a little away time. I'll come back." He had to run. His blood was burning; already his hands were shrinking. She only followed him as far as her bedroom door before she collapsed into tears, sobbing in her hands. He wanted to stay, he really did. She was his best friend, so why couldn't he stay?

But he knew it wouldn't last forever to begin with. He raced as far as he could before ducking into a niche and letting the transformation finish. He was beginning to realize whatever made him small reacted to how he felt. That obviously meant Ran was the bane to his existence. Not good news.

* * *

End.


	21. Bad Kidnapping

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

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_

Chapter Twenty-One

On his walk back to the Kudo residence after school, Inuyasha was surprised to come across Shin'ichi hidden in a little niche tucked between two walls. It was barely big enough for two people to fit inside, but at the expense of his school uniform and a few fresh tears in the cloth, he managed to scrabble inside. He wasn't surprised to find Shin'ichi was sealed again in the Conan form.

There was really no room to move inside the niche, and it really was small enough to bypass notice by the common pedestrian. Shin'ichi wasn't happy and it was obvious by the salt rivers flowing down his slight childish cheeks.

For a few minutes, Shin'ichi didn't acknowledge Inuyasha, but he still sat there. He didn't greet Shin'ichi, but he knew the boy recognized his presence. Inuyasha contemplated the possibilities behind the strange seal on Shin'ichi as he sat there.

He'd known from the minute he felt the pulsing of the seal—the seal overworking itself to attempt conquering the powerful emotions Shin'ichi was putting out—that the seal would eventually gain back the ground it lost and he'd return to the form of Conan.

Inuyasha still hadn't extracted the story behind how his adoptive brother ended up sealed, but figured with time Shin'ichi would spill. Humans _liked_ spilling their problems to others, so he had no reason to think that Shin'ichi would be different. But unlike most humans, Inuyasha had come to find that the other boy was rather reserved and kept his problems—and opinions—within his own mind.

Recognizing his vow to not get involved with humans anymore, Inuyasha made an exception for Shin'ichi who had already done so much for him and helped him acclimate to the new world that was his consequence. As Inuyasha waited for Shin'ichi, he pulled out the book assigned for him to read by one of his teachers. He had _all_ night, and patience or not, if he had something to do during the time he waited, he could be surprisingly calm.

The book was a rather ridiculous one, in Inuyasha's opinion. As of the middle of the book, Inuyasha had not yet come across a single realistic occurrence. The class he was reading it for was called 'creative and artistic musings' or something odd like that and the book was a supposed romance novel. Some of the content was rather questionable, but the teacher had given him the book and expected a report on it by Wednesday. Since it was Monday, he knew he had plenty of time.

The work kept his mind off of the well, where it so often wanted to stray. It didn't help that the well-creature kept whispering her amusement in his ears as though he were some funny plaything. Perhaps he was a funny plaything, but he was not amused.

Several minutes and many page turns later, Inuyasha heard Shin'ichi mumble out of his knees where he currently had his head buried, "My sixth grade teacher, Daone-sensei… Shippou Daone… he called me your belonging… what did he mean?"

That had bothered Shin'ichi for days and he'd wanted to talk to Inuyasha about it, but the opportunity never seemed to come up. At present, Shin'ichi felt like hiding from the world as a feeling of helplessness came over him. He couldn't go anywhere or do anything as Conan with a killer loose on the city although he had no clue why this one was _so_ much more special than any other before. And even if he could stay as himself, he couldn't go anywhere or do anything because of the black syndicate.

He was in a terrible rut and all he wanted was out. A new face, a new identity, a new life… If he had one wish, he would make that one. But wishes were out of his control.

Inuyasha closed his book and set it in his lap, his hands resting on his knees. "I don't know much about th' actual way packs are run, but I would guess, if I was looked at as leader, those members o' my pack would belong t' me. But I grew up alone, mostly," he admitted, leaning back in the niche. He looked out onto the sidewalk and could watch as skirts and pant-legs passed by, none noticing the crack in the wall.

"Weren't you a part of a pack?" Shin'ichi asked quietly. He sort of liked to sit and talk to Inuyasha, even in Conan form because Inuyasha treated him as an equal, though he did sometimes call him a 'kid'. However, Shin'ichi noticed that Inuyasha called pretty much everyone kid, so his irritation at the name had faded somewhat.

"No," Inuyasha said bluntly. "My dad died protectin' my mother an' me, an' my mother was human. My older brother never cared nothin' 'bout me, an' I was always a top-priority on his kill-list after my mother died. Ain't had no one t' teach me th' rules, so I just been makin' up my own since. Done fine, I say."

Shin'ichi laughed weakly. "Must've been pretty enlightening to have a brother who wanted you dead…" Even Inuyasha recognized the sarcasm that thickly coated Shin'ichi's voice. "I hope you don't mind my parents. I think they mean well, even though you get in more fights with my mom about 'Conan' than I've ever gotten into with them."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Ya mother ain't all that bad, an' Yusaku ain't awful. They're real weird, but they ain't terrible." Inuyasha really didn't have a problem with either of them—except that they wanted to be called 'mother' and 'father'. Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to doing that. He _had_ family. Dead family (and soon-to-be-dead once he got his hands on Sesshoumaru) but still they were his family. He couldn't abandon them, dead or not.

Silence stretched for a moment, and Inuyasha decided to get the issue over with. "It happens t' me too," he offered, scratching a line in the book cover with a claw. The paper shredded tenderly under his ministrations.

"What?" Shin'ichi asked, startled slightly. The statement seemed too random to him. But he knew it had to have some purpose. "What are you talking about?"

"My emotions. If I have too much rage pent up in me, my head goes all funny and all I can think of is t' kill." Inuyasha picked at the loose shreds of paper from the cover, brushing them onto the ground.

Shin'ichi wrapped his arms tighter around his childish knees. He wasn't sure how good a thing that would be to have Inuyasha's head 'go funny', and he was forcibly being made to realize the dangers that a youkai brought under his roof. Still, for some reason, his trust was growing for Inuyasha in increasing amounts. He said nothing, letting Inuyasha continue speaking.

"My dad made a sword with th' power t' calm my rage, but I lost it, an' stuff's been goin' on an' I'm worried I'll go berserk without th' sword, 'cause I know I have t' see my brother again soon. He's here." Shin'ichi's eyes widened and he finally looked up into those deep pools of gold. His suspicions toward Inuyasha being the thief, was it possible they were misplaced?

Yes, he still thought Inuyasha could be the thief, but only because how likely was it for someone to have gold eyes and silver hair? Inuyasha had the ability to move without making noise, and he could literally jump into an open third floor window without so much as an effort being made. All these things simply made Shin'ichi believe more that he was the thief.

But what if someone else looked like him? Or he looked like someone else? Could he wrap his mind around that? "You have a brother?" he asked.

"Yeah. His name is Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha watched as Shin'ichi's eyes had a sudden curious glow. "Sometimes I can smell him, but then th' scent trail disappears suddenly." Inuyasha sighed; they were getting off track. His brother wasn't the line of conversation he wanted to talk to Shin'ichi about. He wanted to talk about the seal he felt. "But anyway," he said to get them back on track. "I think ya seal inside ya responds t' ya emotions. Human emotions can sometimes be strong as magic, or stronger, an' it reacted, causin' ya t' change."

"So, you're saying I've been sealed?" Like all those youkai? Why would he be sealed? What purpose would sealing have on him? And… if Inuyasha's brother was named Sesshoumaru… could that mean the sealed youkai was his brother?

"I felt th' magic workin'. But not sure why ya been sealed… I ain't never heard o' a miko seal that turns a guy small." Inuyasha put the newly damaged book in his bag before he wrecked it any more.

"If I understand you correctly, you're saying I could harness the emotions needed to work the seal… right?" Inuyasha nodded and Shin'ichi felt almost better again. And then Inuyasha muttered something about being hungry and he couldn't help but laugh. "You eat way too much." Shin'ichi said as they crawled out of the niche. "I don't get where you keep it all."

"I'm a hungry guy!" Inuyasha protested.

Shin'ichi cast a knowing look up at his adopted hanyou brother. He'd been given a lot to think about. He couldn't just cast aside the fact that at present, Inuyasha was a possible suspect in Kogoro's thief case, but still… Inuyasha was a pretty cool guy. It bothered him a lot less now to be called a belonging of Inuyasha's. The youkai term and human term were obviously different.

xXx

Almost two and a half weeks, Kagome had this illness. She groaned as her brother gently guided her back to her bed, which was now in the guest room on the second floor. He was practically her nurse, helping her with everything from going to the bathroom and running her bathwater to bandaging her injuries.

She recalled the first time he'd been bandaging her injuries with her awake and remembered how he nearly had a heart attack over the word 'pet' inscribed deep into her right shoulder blade. That injury and her hand were the worst infected. He wanted to know why it was there, and yet she couldn't tell him.

If she told him about youkai and how she had a stalker in the numbers, well, she feared he might question her sanity. Of course, it was his own fault for thinking her unaware that Inuyasha was a hanyou. They could both have saved a lot of trouble if they just talked about it, but they didn't.

Aside from that, Kagome really didn't feel like talking at all. All she could think about, all her worries, were on her mother and baby brother. What was Sesshoumaru doing to them now? She could hardly move on her own, since her legs didn't seem to want to hold her weight. It was really Sesshoumaru's _fault_ that she was sick, but since she wasn't there as he told her to be at lunch, and didn't get back by four PM either, would he be punishing her mother and brother?

The more she thought about this after coming home from the hospital, the more she felt like retreating into her mind and never coming out. This reality, this world, was not one she wanted to live. So when Heiji left her side, saying he would only be gone a few hours, she struggled out of bed and pulled herself to the door, shutting and locking it.

As soon as that was done, she managed to slide back across the room to the bed where she curled up with the desire of never opening her eyes again. She never wanted to see reality again. She never wanted to find out what happened to her mother. She couldn't bear knowing what was likely to happen to her baby brother.

There, the pain began. It was like a fire burning through her veins, and she felt like she was dying. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was yellow. There was no depth to an object, because she could not see anything. She put her hand in front of her face and could not see it.

She felt the painful fire crashing through her system still, and an end to the pain was nowhere. A whispering told her, the pain will go away if she killed… it was the solution… kill, kill…

But that didn't seem right to her. Killing only brought on more pain, more suffering. She was floating in a sea of yellow and pain. Lots of pain.

xXx

Heiji looked up at the Kudo residence in irritation. For two and a half weeks he'd taken care of Kagome while she was sick, never expecting her symptoms could be at all similar to Ran's before she went berserk and decided to try drowning Shin'ichi in a tub of water.

He hadn't really had time for school while taking care of Kagome, and he'd flat-out refused to let Inuyasha close to Kagome while she was so sick. After finding the word 'pet' inscribed into her back, he was determined that no one but family get close to her.

They'd tried finding her mom and Souta, but Kagome said that Ai had gone north with Souta and left her with a friend. Kagome wouldn't say who gave her the injuries, but Heiji had been sure it was Inuyasha. After all, the guy was likely the thief who Kogoro was looking for, right?

But now, this morning, Kagome had woken up with yellow eyes. No iris, no whites, no pupils… just that sunflower yellow. The same as Ran's were. If Inuyasha was really some magical hanyou, and something odd was about to happen to Kagome, then Heiji knew he had to tie down his burning anger at the injuries his six-day-younger baby sister had sustained and ask the hanyou for help.

He reached out, flexed his pointer finger, and then rang the bell.

He could hear the noise ringing out throughout the entire mansion, and then Shin'ichi answered the door in the form of Conan. "What do you want, Heiji?" Shin'ichi scowled. To have his afternoon bothered by Heiji usually only meant a bad thing, and that was usually to exchange information on the murder cases and the theft cases.

Shin'ichi really hadn't had much information on the theft cases to exchange what with no longer living with Mori, so Heiji had nearly stopped bugging him. Shin'ichi also thought the reason the other guy stopped bugging him was because his sister was apparently sick, and he wouldn't help his dad with the case and leave her side.

"Where's Inuyasha?" Heiji demanded, even as Inuyasha appeared with a bottle of cherry soda in his hands, gulping it down as though it would disappear. "Inuyasha, are ya serious about that youkai stuff?"

Inuyasha choked on his soda, and Shin'ichi immediately began shoving at Heiji's knees, pushing him out of the house. Inuyasha followed Shin'ichi out and shut the door, leveling his gold eyes at Heiji. "Ya mind not screamin' it?" Inuyasha whispered.

Heiji frowned. "What's ya problem?"

Shin'ichi explained, "The problem is that my parents don't know."

"Why not?" Heiji asked, but then shook his head. "Never mind, forget it. Ya comin' with me now. I think Kagome might be a miko too, like Ran." Shin'ichi's eyes went wide, and Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

"Of course Kagome's a miko," Inuyasha grumbled, capping his soda. "What th' hell ya thinkin' she's not for?" Then it clicked in Inuyasha's brain and he swore violently. 'Like Ran' he said. That was why he didn't smell magic on her at the hospital. She was already well into her transformation to hanyou, which meant that any day now she could become a hanyou and after that it was three to four weeks of being a nise-hanyou.

Really, if it weren't for Kikyou, he wouldn't know as much as he did about miko.

"Well, shit," Inuyasha growled. He took off for the Hattori residence, having found out where it was only a week earlier. All the same, he knew where he was going. He didn't bother with opening the small gate. Instead he launched up over the twenty-five foot fence, leaving Shin'ichi and Heiji to race after him.

"If I didn't believe it a'fore, I believe it now," Heiji scowled. And he was letting that creature close to his sister?

xXx

The pain was so awful. Wasn't there an end? The whispering continued, telling her there was fresh blood below her. She would just have to go to it, she could feast on the blood and the pain would end. But doing what the whispering told her would be wrong… not to mention disgusting…

Her mother would look on her in shame. Her mother was dead, the whisperer breathed. No, she insisted her mother was alive and well, and just waiting for her to come home. Once she had her sight back, she could go to her mother and everything would be alright.

xXx

Inuyasha growled as he had to wait a few minutes for Heiji to catch up. Technically he could just barge into the house and go to Kagome, but he did need the few spare minutes to get his raging blood under control. The youkai half of him knew Kagome was in pain, and if his memory served him correctly which it should then Kagome's pain was probably intensifying.

He guessed by the time he'd gotten to Ran, she was already halfway through being hanyou, and had fought the pain the whole time. It just got to be too bad for her to face alone, and that was where Shin'ichi came in. With Ran taking comfort in Shin'ichi's presence, she was able to fight the pain until the transformation to youkai completed.

Heiji was finally there and he unlocked the front door. Inuyasha pressed his way inside, scowling deeply as he scented his brother on the air. He looked up. A landing, and Kagome was somewhere above. He could hear her whimpering. Then it stopped… her crying stopped… why?

Heiji was on his way up the steps inside the entry hall, three at a time, and Shin'ichi was following. Inuyasha leapt up to the landing and followed Kagome's scent. It was mixed with sickness, but she smelled freshly cleaned, and he knew Heiji had clearly taken care of her.

The door was swinging on its hinges, a forced entry. Inuyasha entered, but Kagome was nowhere to be found. There was a note on a freshly made bed. He went to read it, his blood boiling in rage, his youkai berserker howling to be set free. He could not unleash it. He clung desperately to control it as he picked up the note.

_I have my pet. You should have stayed dead._

It was directed at him. He knew it. As Heiji and Shin'ichi came into the room, Inuyasha fell to his knees, leaning on the bed, trying to contain the youkai within him. It wanted vengeance. It wanted blood.

"Inuyasha?" Shin'ichi inquired.

"Where is she?" Heiji asked. "She was in this room. I was only gone twenty minutes!"

Inuyasha turned blood red eyes on the two, even as he fought for control. They stepped back, shocked by an even freakier sight that unnatural gold eyes, or sunflower yellow eyes. Inuyasha whipped the now-crumpled piece of paper at the two. "You tell me! You tell me why this place reeks of my brother! You tell me why he would dare _touch_ what is _mine_! I will tell you how I will _kill_ him!"

Both humans were too stunned to speak, and Inuyasha sat down on the bed, curling up in Kagome's scent where it soothed his youkai half even though her scent lingered with that of sickness. It helped enough that he could once again contain the youkai's rage.

Heiji immediately went to call his father and tell him what happened. Later that night, Inuyasha and Shin'ichi returned to Mori's place to check up on Ran to find Kogoro fuming. "THAT BASTARD TOOK MY RAN!" Kogoro hollered. They found out that Ran also had been taken by someone that day. Kogoro believed the suspect was Shin'ichi, who had been left with her.

When they got back to the Kudo residence, Inuyasha scowled as he said, "My brother took her. I could smell him everywhere. I don't know what the fuck he's doing, but I damn well am gonna find out." Shin'ichi decided that now was a good time to tell Inuyasha what he'd found out at the museum with his fifth grade teacher, Shippou Daone.

**End.**


	22. Bad Slap

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

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_

Chapter Twenty-Two

Later that night, Shin'ichi sat with Heiji and Inuyasha in the Hattori's dining room, all lined up on one side of the table. Police milled around the house, going from room to room looking for any clue they could to find out who kidnapped Kagome. Inspector Megure was standing on the opposite side of the table. He had yet to sit down.

Shizuka looked on in worry as Toshiro paced back and forth anxiously. Heiji and Shin'ichi knew what was coming. The three of them had been the ones to stumble on a crime scene, so they were going to be interrogated by Inspector Megure. Inuyasha was sitting hunched up in his seat, brooding, with the edge of his eyes looking a little red.

In his mind, he knew that the puny humans around him had no idea what a struggle it was for him to keep from lashing out. His eyes were half-closed in irritation. While the humans wanted to make him sit at a table as though _he_ had been the one to do something wrong, Sesshoumaru could be doing anything he wanted to Kagome.

Inspector Megure cleared his throat before beginning, "Heiji," he said, starting with Toshiro's son, the victim's sister. Heiji sat a little straighter, but not before he sent a suspicious glare at Inuyasha—one that Megure saw. Megure made a mental note of that. "You were here with your sister from six PM last night until ten AM this morning, correct?"

Heiji nodded sharply. "Yes, sir," he said. "She's been sick for th' past couple o' weeks, an' unable t' move 'round very much without assistance. I slept with 'er last night so that if there was anything she needed help with, I was there."

"But," Megure turned to Shizuka, "your mother states Hattori left this morning to work on the murder case with us around six AM." Heiji nodded the truth of that.

"Pops come into th' room this morning t' check on Kagome. No matter that she's got medicine, 'er condition never got better. Pops kissed Kagome on th' forehead, an' told me t' make sure she got a bath so th' sickness wasn't stickin' t' her." Heiji looked at his pacing father. Toshiro looked like he wanted to throttle the questions out of all three boys.

"And so what did you do?" Megure questioned.

"I got up an' went into th' guest bathroom an' showered. I was gone for 'bout thirteen minutes doing that, an' took me about ten minutes t' make breakfast for ma and me. Then I went back an' lay by Kagome till she woke up. Around nine she woke, an' I helped 'er into th' tub and at ten, I hadta go see Inuyasha an' Conan at th' Kudo's place."

Shin'ichi glanced at Heiji out of the corner of his eye. Heiji had left out why he had to go see the two of them. A few seconds later, a young police officer rushed into the room. He whispered to Megure, too low for humans to hear. It was certainly a good thing Inuyasha wasn't human. He might currently have had a red bandana holding his ears pressed against his head, but that meant nothing.

"Sir, Yukiko and Yusaku Kudo are at the door. They have a lawyer with them." Inuyasha felt a scowl make it across his face as Megure sighed. Inuyasha could smell Sesshoumaru all over this house. "Sir, I know you wanted to get this over with, but," Megure simply nodded.

"Let them come." The young officer nodded and left the dining hall. A few seconds later, the Kudo family stepped in the door with a man with a briefcase. The smell set Inuyasha instantly on his feet, the chair crashing behind him as his hasty movement tipped it. Startled officers, the Hattori's, Megure, and all three Kudo family members looked at Inuyasha.

The man there… blue eyes, high pony tail, smirking lips… "Kouga!" he growled lowly. 'Why the hell is he here?' Inuyasha screamed in his mind. From the look of things, Kouga survived what Shippou called the Youkai War. So, Inuyasha thought, that was three he knew to survive: Shippou, Kouga, and Sesshoumaru.

"So surprised you remember me," Kouga chuckled as many looked at him curiously. Even the Kudo parents looked at Kouga in confusion. Kouga saw the glances and an even wider smile spread across his face.

Shin'ichi saw the glance Heiji gave in questioning, and mouthed 'Later', in promised explanation. Shin'ichi hadn't yet had a chance to tell Inuyasha about the museum, or his suspicions, and he was beginning to understand the true gravity of the situation. Inuyasha, and demons like him, ran a different page of the book. Megure, even Shin'ichi and Heiji, all of them were helpless against a demon.

Inuyasha had literally given Shin'ichi a taste of power when he transformed. That burning sensation that he'd felt, he never wanted to feel again. Shin'ichi wasn't so sure anymore that Inuyasha letting Heiji know of his being a hanyou was a good idea, because Heiji seemed to dislike Inuyasha further due to the fact.

"You know Inuyasha, Daone-san?" Yukiko questioned, having been previously unaware her adopted son knew their lawyer. True, Kouga was a curator for the Daone Museum, but only legally. His wife actually called the shots, and everyone knew that Kouga was just the public view. Kouga's profession was work as a lawyer.

"The two of us have sparred once or twice," Kouga said confidently, his smug little smirk on his face. Inuyasha could tell by the sound of Kouga's voice that he felt he won those fights.

"Each time I sent ya back with ya tail between ya legs!" Inuyasha scowled. He could almost taste the fact that Kouga wanted to twitch his tail in annoyance, but Kouga's tail was kept hidden beneath his clothing. "Ya here for another round?" Inuyasha asked, cinching his knuckles so they crackled like the Rice Crispies cereal Shin'ichi had showed Inuyasha.

Kouga stepped forward, setting his briefcase on the table and leering at Inuyasha—a motion seen by everyone present. Inuyasha did not back down. He stood there, garbed in his red haori and hakama of fire rat hide, his gold eyes narrowed. "No." Kouga said simply. "Not here. Not now. Sit down." The word sit sent a sensation of unease instantly through Inuyasha until he remembered only Kagome could activate the spell.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but he felt magic, so similar to his own yet so much more powerful after five hundred years, grasping his body. It was wind magic, and it encompassed Inuyasha entirely, like a body wrap, and forced him to move until he'd righted his chair and sat down.

Shin'ichi and Heiji saw the truly murderous look in his gold-tinged-red eyes as magic forced Inuyasha to bow his head and look at the floor. Kouga hadn't sat upon his rear the last five hundred years, but he did expect far more resistance than this from Inuyasha. Surely after five hundred years, Inuyasha would be a bit stronger at least. He'd known hanyou worked differently, but didn't think it would be this bad…

"Now," Kouga glanced at Megure before indicating that the Kudo parents should sit down. Yusaku looked to Toshiro for permission, and it was granted with a sharp nod before Toshiro returned to pacing. "What questions do you have for my clients?"

Megure growled lowly; not only did they have a lawyer, but they had the best damn lawyer in the city. "Two girls have been kidnapped. One without a note, the other with a note." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Inuyasha and Conan," Megure was cut off with a rather vexing glare.

"Young though they may be, they deserve respect!" Kouga snapped. "You will refer to them as Kudo-san and Edogawa-san from here on out." The defense for Inuyasha not receiving respect due was something Inuyasha had not expected from Kouga and it snapped him out of his brooding reverie.

Megure's scowl only became more prominent. He'd just wanted to get this done with so he could get back to the murder case. As it was, things were stretched thin in the city between two very large cases. Megure was allowing five of his officers to work with Mori on the case of the burglar who was stealing from homes. Then there was an entirely different case of a serial murderer and it was taking everything the police had and _more_ just to get the minimal information they had on the killer. Now, a third case of kidnapping was popping up and their police would be stretched indefinitely thin.

Adding to that was the fact that there were still other cases. Drugs, domestic disputes, prostitution… AND THERE WAS DAONE! Hindering a case just with his presence.

Heiji said, "I don't think ya need a lawyer." The threat was clear in his voice. If anyone didn't cooperate, they would face the consequences.

Megure looked at Kouga with that scowl, "Look, we all just want to solve this case so we can focus on more," he was interrupted again.

Kouga leaned forward, placing one clawed hand on the table. "I am protecting the rights of my client. Would you deny what rights they have simply due to your own frustration? If you cannot handle your job, step down! Someone else will!" Inuyasha's eyes went wide, and he realized how different Kouga seemed. He was incredibly powerful—it didn't take a genius to feel the aura Kouga exuded.

Megure opened his mouth to speak, and Kouga opened his mouth to interrupt. "Stop it," Inuyasha said, though it took all the effort he had to talk. Kouga's magic was keeping his jaw locked. The magic loosened and Inuyasha found himself finally able to move a little, though he was still stuck fast to the chair. Going against Kouga at his power levels would be like pitting a newborn babe against a full grown adult, and Inuyasha had to concede powerlessness, as much as he hated it.

"Huh?" Megure asked, as Kouga's blue eyes rested on Inuyasha.

"Just stop." Inuyasha looked at Megure with gold eyes no longer rimmed in red. "Hattori came t' th' Kudo's place. He talked t' us for a few minutes an' we all came here. Kagome's door was broken off, an' th' note on th' bed was for _me_. She was taken 'cause of me. The one who took her, he's my brother."

Kouga's jaw nearly dropped.

Yukiko walked over to Inuyasha and he turned his face to her. She stared down at him in anger. She was still unaware that Inuyasha knew of Shin'ichi's rather delicate situation. She slapped him. She had to be restrained as Inuyasha's cheek stung.

"Don't you ever accuse Shin'ichi of such! He would never! Did you ever think maybe someone was waiting for him to leave Mori's place?" There was a flurry of motions as Shin'ichi, Yusaku, and even the officers attempted to sooth her. But that hadn't been the brother Inuyasha meant.

**End.**


	23. Bad Trap

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. __

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_

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ran put a hand to her head as she sat up. She moaned as it began throbbing harder with each second that passed her into wakefulness. As she looked around, her eyes registered things; a plain wood dresser, an open closet, a bed.

It took just a few more minutes to register that the bed she was sitting on was not hers, and the girl curled up next to her was no acquaintance. "What?" she asked no one in particular. The girl looked awake and her eyes were completely yellow. It was strange to see eyes like that. She had no pupils.

"What's going on? Where am I? Who are you?" Ran asked the girl.

The girl looked at Ran with a look on her face that almost screamed pain and suffering. "We're… trapped…" the girl whispered. It was hard to tell if she was actually looking at Ran or not. "He holds my…my mother and brother…they're his hostages…"

Ran felt a sinking feeling in her gut even as the painful headache seemed to intensify. He who? Who was 'he'?

xXx

Using the pretense of the squabble between mother and adopted son, Kouga grabbed Inuyasha's arm and dragged him into another room. There were officers here searching everything. Kouga knew what Inuyasha really meant, but he couldn't see how Inuyasha could be right about it.

Pulling Inuyasha away from the officers, and speaking in a whisper lower than the humans would hear, Kouga said, "What do you mean? You should know your brother's been sealed for five hundred damn years."

"Psh," Inuyasha snorted, before it finally sank in. Sealed. His brother—sealed. It had to be a joke. No one was strong enough to defeat Sesshoumaru… "Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha had to lean on the wall, the shock was so hard. "But Kagome saw him… and I can _smell_ him. Everywhere… all over this house, all over Mori's place."

Kouga grabbed a pen from his suit pocket. He wrote an address on Inuyasha's hand. "Tonight, go to this address. I'll meet you there. I can give you all the proof you'd ever want…" he paused for a second, looking thoughtful, and then added, "You can read, right?"

Inuyasha growled at Kouga and swiped at him. His hand was caught easily, and the wolf grinned. "Asshole." Inuyasha snarled. "Kagome's missin' and you laugh?"

"Ah, and I expect a full explanation tonight. Humans don't live forever, I don't care who they are." He let Inuyasha yank his hand back. "Let me deal with them in there," he tilted his head at the dining room door. "What you've said will already be trouble enough."

xXx

Around midnight, Inuyasha and the Kudo family arrived back at the Kudo residence. It was strained between Inuyasha and Yukiko. Yukiko felt betrayed by Inuyasha for what he said, still unaware that Inuyasha had not meant Shin'ichi. He knew he would have to correct her thoughts, but with what Kouga had told him, he was uncertain of what he should really reveal.

It angered him that someone might be impersonating his brother. He didn't at all believe for a second that Kagome would lie to him. No, not his little miko. But scents were a lot harder to imitate and Kagome had smelled like Sesshoumaru. Very strongly of him.

He couldn't sleep, but he was waiting for Yukiko to fall asleep before sneaking out. That was how he knew of Yusaku's quiet entrance into the bedroom they had provided him. He didn't turn his head, simply stayed in his window, staring out at the moon. The next night would be the night of his weakness, as the moon's face would be veiled.

It was difficult in the modern era to disappear on the night of his weakness, so he simply climbed up onto the roof. No one was up there at that time, so he could easily be there and not found.

For a few extended moments, Yusaku stood by the door. Then he sighed. "Mind if I come in? I have a few things I want to talk to you about, son."

Inuyasha shrugged but didn't turn away from the moon. The sliver of light cast an ethereal glow on his features. He was wondering about what would happen when he met Kouga later on. Kouga was so much stronger than him it made him feel incredibly inferior. He hated to feel that way.

But this was Kagome's world, and he did this to himself. He could have lived five hundred years, easily, if he hadn't fallen into that well and he waited for Kagome. He lacked patience… He had always been short on it.

Yusaku stepped closer to Inuyasha and noticed the bed was still covered in cobwebs and didn't look like it had been used once. He went to the wide window seat and sat on the other side of it, glancing out at the moon. He remained silent again for a moment, and Inuyasha made no move to strike up a conversation.

He still was angry at himself for letting Kagome get kidnapped. It was always his fault she got hurt. He was negligent, and the biggest idiot alive. Who knew what Sesshoumaru, or the Sesshoumaru impersonator, was doing to his Kagome? If it weren't for him, she wouldn't get hurt. He was at fault for the danger she got into.

If he had just died… why hadn't he died? Why couldn't he have died?

Yusaku's voice drove Inuyasha back to the present. "I know." He said simply. He didn't appear too keen on elaborating, forcing Inuyasha to converse.

"Know what?"

"About your brother. I've met him." Inuyasha blinked at Yusaku. But he didn't talk, since he didn't know what Yusaku actually knew about Sesshoumaru, or if it was at all possible that Yusaku could be confusing someone else to be related to Inuyasha. Again he cursed his wish and the entity in the well for granting it.

Yusaku pushed the windows open further than they were, letting more of the cool late night breeze into the room. "He writes books, and every last one of them is set back in feudal Japan, detailing a young common girl's adventures. He does very well at them despite cross-gender writing."

Inuyasha asked, "Cross-gender writing?" He'd never heard the term before.

"A male author writing from the perspective of a female heroine, or a female author writing from the perspective of a male hero." Yusaku explained. "We have the same publishing company. That's where I met him, as he was leaving and I was going in."

"There a point to this?" Inuyasha asked.

"There is." Yusaku nodded. "I know you didn't mean Shin'ichi. When Yukiko and I adopted you, we knew there'd be trouble from the start. For one, you made your first impression on us by stealing my wallet." That sounded like something Inuyasha would do. "Of course," it never happened, "we followed you. The rats nest we found you in wasn't worthy to be a garbage dump, much less a home for a young boy. So, we took you in, gave you food and clothes and a warm bed."

Inuyasha was amazed. The well-creature had really done a number on their memories. "I know Yukiko loves you, Inuyasha." Yusaku continued.

"My mother loved me too," Inuyasha said softly. "She died for me. Would you?" He wasn't sure what made him say it. Just that it popped out before he could stop it. He knew Kagome's mom would do anything for her children, and maybe for Inuyasha too. He wanted to go see Ai again. She was warm, just like his own mother had been.

Yusaku sighed. "Inuyasha, the past is the past. Whatever gripe you have between your brother," Inuyasha's eyebrows snapped together, "should stay between you and your brother. But to accuse him of kidnapping," fury began simmering in Inuyasha's gut.

"I'm right!" Inuyasha said.

Yusaku set a book on Inuyasha's lap. Inuyasha hadn't even realized Yusaku had it until it was put in his lap. He picked it up and looked at the front cover. It was a soppy romance cover he was looking at, like the one he was reading for his class. It was titled, "Flowers for a Prince". The author's name, "Sesshoumaru Daigonyo".

"What am I s'posed t' do with this?" Inuyasha asked. A feeling of dread passed through him at the name 'Sesshoumaru' on the cover.

"Read." Was the answer. "I'm sorry, but I need proof. Concrete evidence that your brother had anything to do with these kidnappings, or a motive behind it. Without that, your accusation does nothing but pin you as guilty." Yusaku sighed and pat Inuyasha's leg in a friendly manner, almost consolingly. As Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue, Yusaku again spoke. "Don't argue it. I do know how the police think around here. Probably the only good thing is that Toshiro Hattori is in the city."

"I still don't know what you're tryin' t' get at." Inuyasha muttered, closing pale lids over golden orbs. His arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

"Inuyasha, Shin'ichi told me everything." Instantly Inuyasha felt his muscles tense.

"Everything?" And Yusaku wasn't freaking that Inuyasha was a demon?

"Yes… how you and Hattori's daughter are so close. Everything." Inuyasha almost laughed at himself. He would have, if the situation were any less serious. If Kagome weren't missing… If she didn't have so many injuries caused by something other than her training…

He breathed a sigh. "Yeah, I guess." He muttered in a noncommittal voice. Kouga was waiting, and a brief glance at the clock in the room told him it was already one thirty AM.

"Your relationship with her, and the fact that Heiji Hattori doesn't trust you an ounce makes you a suspect. Heiji admitted you were with him, otherwise he would have believed you to be the prime suspect simply because he wouldn't let you see her."

Inuyasha ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, whatever, man. I don't give a rat's ass if Hattori likes me or not! Kagome's th' only one I got now, an' I'm gonna find out what's goin' on."

Yusaku frowned, seeing that he would get nowhere with Inuyasha. "Alright, Inuyasha. Go see Daone-san." Inuyasha glared at Yusaku and he chuckled, tapping his temple. "I'm not stupid. You two know each other, you disappeared for a few minutes in the huff, and after that you had an address written on your hand. Just be careful. Okay? I'll cover for you, if Yukiko asks."

Inuyasha watched in confusion as Yusaku left the room. He decided the man was okay, for a human. Then, he pulled himself closer to the window and leapt out of it, landing hard on the ground because his legs had fallen asleep. When he got to the gate, he had to skid to a stop. Shin'ichi was standing by the gate, pacing as though it were the only reason he was still awake.

Inuyasha shook his head at the boy and walked up to him. "I guess ya think ya comin'." Shin'ichi looked at him with a hard stare. Inuyasha took that as a yes. "Fine." He grabbed the boy by the collar and soared over the tall fence…

**End.**


	24. Bad Amusement

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four

Shin'ichi couldn't help but let out a loud yelp. "Gah! What are you doing!" he yelled furiously at Inuyasha. Maybe Inuyasha wasn't bothered by it at all, but humans were _not_ made to fly. The most important fact may have been that humans were simply not born for it, or perhaps it was more important to point out that (as Shin'ichi's logical brain pointed out) they weren't really flying.

No, they were simply jumping real high and landing almost smoothly before Inuyasha leapt again, carrying them both to a rooftop where he ran so fast Shin'ichi would have sworn his cheeks would spurt out the side of his face. It was not natural. At all.

He really didn't think there would ever be a day when he would get used to traveling like he was. It was the sort of stuff people in the movies did, not normal everyday kinds of men. Shin'ichi was the 'normal everyday man' who did not leap off of buildings and land on adjacent rooftops. But it brought a question to mind: what if Spider-Man was _real_?

Inuyasha almost had to bite back a laugh at Shin'ichi, despite the tense situation. He would have if things were a little less serious. If Kagome weren't kidnapped… He could remember how often Kagome shrieked in fright at the beginning when he would grab her and jump out of harm's reach. She would cling to him like a lifeline.

Eventually she learned to trust him and stopped half-choking him to death but that was only after he proved that he wouldn't let her get hurt if he could help it.

Kagome…

He was going to get her back. Whatever the cost, he was going to get her back. He halted on the edge of a rooftop and at the first sign of stopping, Shin'ichi breathed in deeply.

"I hate flying," Shin'ichi said without any true conviction. He sent a weak glare at Inuyasha. "If you're going to do that again, warn me!" He looked a pale green, almost. Then he looked around to gather his bearings. After a few seconds, he decided he did not know where they were because the city looked far different from the rooftops than the ground. "Where are we?" he asked Inuyasha.

Inuyasha didn't answer. "Let's go," was all the warning he gave before leaping over the guard rail into the open air. The move did nothing good for Shin'ichi's stomach. It was almost as though Inuyasha rode the side of the building down to the ground.

On the ground, Shin'ichi was able to attempt clearing his thoughts as soon as Inuyasha set him down. They had arrived at their destination. Shin'ichi was nearly kissing the ground when they heard Heiji's voice.

"Took ya long enough. I was thinkin' I missed ya." Heiji walked out of a dark crevice in the side of the building.

Inuyasha almost growled in annoyance. He was never going to get rid of these two, was he? Didn't they know he didn't need them hovering over every move he made? Clearly not…

"Yusaku wanted t' talk." Inuyasha groused before turning to look at the tall building. It looked very different at night than it did in the day, but Shin'ichi knew it was the museum that his teacher had gone to. If he were to guess, he would say the thing Daone-san wanted to show Inuyasha was the very top floor.

"Well, ya ain't goin' in without me." Heiji insisted.

Inuyasha sighed and glanced at Heiji. "This ain't got nothin' t' do with Kagome. It's somethin' all different." Heiji only gave Inuyasha a determined and immovable glare. "Fine, do what ya want." Inuyasha said. He walked up the stairs to the museum entrance. Heiji and Shin'ichi fell in step with him. The door was unlocked, and there was a little girl—a half-wolf, half-dog mixed breed demon—waiting for them in front of an elevator lift.

"Aiee!" the girl squealed happily and latched onto Inuyasha. "Step-brother!"

Inuyasha grabbed the girl by the collar of her shirt and peeled her away from his leg, lifting her to eye-level. He gave her an annoyed stare as she wiggled gleefully. "Who th' fuck are you?" he demanded of the kid.

"I'm Regege! Your step-sister! Daddy told me you were coming to save us from my bitchy mother."

"What the hell?" Inuyasha shared confused glances with Heiji and Shin'ichi. "What th' fuck do I wanna save ya for? And where th' hell is Wolf-shit?"

"You're cursing!" the girl gasped.

"You did too!" Inuyasha countered.

"But you did it first!" Regege insisted, "And I was only repeating what my daddy said! And I don't know anyone named Wolf-shit. All I know is daddy said to bring you to the top floor."

Inuyasha released the girl's collar and she landed easily on her feet. Inuyasha decided that the girl was an idiot. Shin'ichi and Heiji weren't sure what to make of the little girl. Then again, Heiji really hadn't come to terms with the fact that _demons_ were real yet. All he knew was that his sister was kidnapped and Inuyasha could possibly be a suspect. There was always the chance that Inuyasha had an accomplice.

One elevator ride later and Regege and the three young men had arrived on the top floor. The top floor was brightly lit, where the lower floor had been mostly dark save a light around the elevator. There were about twenty male and female demons of various stocks, but the one that seemed to stick out the most was wearing an incredibly beautiful white kimono. Her silver hair hung down to her waist in a braid.

But she looked _exactly_ like Sesshoumaru, and that brought a growl out of Inuyasha. Heiji and Shin'ichi looked at Inuyasha, both willing to take their cues from him. The woman's gold eyes came into contact with Inuyasha's and she smiled. Inuyasha felt his teeth set on edge by that smile.

And then Kouga was blocking Inuyasha's view of the woman. "Glad you finally showed up, dog-breath." Kouga grumbled in annoyance. He glanced at Heiji and Shin'ichi in confusion and raised an eyebrow in question.

"I ain't stoppin' them." Inuyasha responded in answer to the silent question. "Who's the bitch?" he asked, tilting his head at the woman. He wasn't sure what about her set him on edge, but he was very good at trusting his gut instinct. It very rarely served him wrong, especially when he felt it so strongly.

"My mate," Kouga said, glancing at Shin'ichi and Heiji briefly again. "Make sure your humans don't touch anything." It was as though Kouga felt them beneath him to warn them directly. It was almost true—humans were less than demons in the eyes of a demon.

But Inuyasha didn't think that way. "Tell 'em your own self. They're standin' right here." Inuyasha glanced around the room at the people. For some reason, they were all watching him as though eagerly waiting for him to do something. He didn't know why, but he figured if he waited just a little while, he'd find out.

Inuyasha then looked at the displays in the museum for the first time. His eyes fell on a young woman who looked like she was about to attack something with a katana. He heard Shin'ichi explaining to Heiji that the displays were real people who had been sealed with magic.

'How does Shin'ichi know that?' Inuyasha thought before turning his eyes away from the familiar woman. It only brought his guilt back a hundred-fold by looking at her. Her being there was visible proof of his idiocy. Now he would have to acknowledge the fact that he had been the cause of whatever had come about.

If only he hadn't made that stupid wish!

He shook himself mentally. He had come here for proof that Sesshoumaru was sealed. Once he had that proof, he would know for certain whether or not the 'Sesshoumaru' who had taken Kagome was a fake. Whether it was a fake or not…he was certain the outcome would be the same. He would get Kagome back and _kill_ whoever took her from him.

"Inuyasha, glad you made it!" Shippou called from across the room. He practically skipped across the room, his wild green eyes filled with excitement. "We thought you weren't coming after all."

Inuyasha looked at the runt (or what used to be a runt). "Yeah, whatever," he muttered before looking at Kouga again. "Who the hell are all these people?" He couldn't quite figure out why they needed twenty people present just so he could see that Sesshoumaru was sealed.

Kouga's mate had come to join the small group, that sickeningly sweet smile on her face still. Her gold eyes harbored anger in them but he wasn't sure if that anger was directed toward him or something else. Inuyasha _was_ sure that he wouldn't like her very much though, and she had a very strong pepper scent around her.

"Why, Inuyasha-sama," she said in a mocking drawl, "they're your subordinates, of course. Or, at least, what is left of the mighty West anyway." Inuyasha knew complete confusion must have shown on his features because Shippou moved to explain.

"Since Sesshoumaru was sealed, your father's kingdom and throne would go to you. Like I said, there's not many of us left. Through all of Japan, there's only three hundred or somewhere near that." Shippou told him. He waved to the watching twenty demons present and continued, "These people here report directly to the king; each of them have people under their command that report to them in the order of the hierarchy."

Inuyasha took a moment to mull that information over. "Show me Sesshoumaru," he told Kouga. He could understand the logic that would make him 'king' in Sesshoumaru's place, but he honestly didn't know if it was a position he would want to take up. He _could_ recognize one or two of the people present; people who had abused him when he was a child.

Kouga nodded and led the group past displays of demons and a few sealed humans. Inuyasha could see that the very fabric they were wearing was so old it was starting to crumble. Each display was roped off with red cord. The living demons present stepped aside and bowed to Inuyasha as he passed.

It wasn't a very long walk; less than a minute later Inuyasha was standing in front of a red cord and looking at a young human woman—a _miko_. He could feel the pulsing of a seal just beneath her skin. The young woman looked a little like Kagome, he thought.

Inuyasha climbed over the red cord and approached the girl, trying to remember where he had seen her before or why she looked so familiar. An image came to his mind of a young child who followed his half-brother everywhere. "Sesshoumaru-sama," the little girl would say, and she would always say it with reverence in her voice.

What was her name again?

To the right of the girl crouched in a half-bow was Sesshoumaru himself. Inuyasha didn't _need_ to see the face that was hidden in shadow and a mess of hair to know. He would have to be stupid not to recognize his brother's aura. He felt strange about seeing Sesshoumaru looking so vulnerable; as far as he knew, he was the only one who had ever managed to send Sesshoumaru to his knees.

Mixed in with Sesshoumaru's aura were five seals. At least, he thought, he must have given the miko hell before his death. He walked over to Sesshoumaru and, mostly on a whim, used his heel to kick his brother onto his side. Sesshoumaru's sealed body fell sideways, but as if he were a wood doll, he stayed in the same position. Doing so, he saw five ribbons on the ground beneath where Sesshoumaru's chest had been.

Death—Sight—Speech—Magic—Movement. Those were the words on the five ribbons. The demons in the room watched Inuyasha with pursed lips, but almost as if they didn't dare argue with what he was doing. Inuyasha moved to his brother and shifted the crumbling haori back. The bone armor was mostly just shattered bone so it wasn't in the way.

Five broken arrow shafts stuck out of Sesshoumaru's chest in an almost star-like pattern. Inuyasha looked back at the five ribbons as something struck him as odd. The seals must have been specifically created just to seal one thing rather than an ordinary miko seal, which would seal "life".

His brother wasn't dead, because the first seal was made to seal death. If he couldn't die, then no matter how hungry he was, or how tired, or how injured, he would never succumb to death. The sight seal would have sealed his vision and the speech seal would take away his method of verbal communication. The movement seal would make it so he couldn't move any of his body parts. But the magic seal was probably designed especially for powerful demons like Sesshoumaru who could likely break a seal with his own magic, thus without the magic seal he would have been able to nullify the other seals himself.

His brother was probably alive, and could probably hear them all. And there was nothing really that could be done, because the only living miko he knew of was currently in kidnapped form.

Inuyasha looked back at Kouga. He was quiet, kneeling on the ground beside his sealed brother, surveying the wolf he used to call his rival. When Inuyasha finally spoke, his words were simple, yet carefully chosen. "Fine," he slowly stood, folding his hands in his wide red sleeves, "but we gonna do things my way."

Kouga nodded somewhat hesitantly, and the others followed suit. Kouga's mate did not look happy at all. Regege squealed with joy (previously forgotten in the back of the room), and raced to Inuyasha, clinging to his leg. "Yay! Step-brother, will you play with me, since now you are one of us?!"

Inuyasha glared down at the child but she didn't notice his discomfort. "Regege," Kouga said, "Inuyasha-sama has more important issues to attend."

"First off," Inuyasha growled as the kid detached herself from his leg sadly, "I ain't goin' for that shit like 'lord'. My name is 'Inuyasha' an' ya can jus' forget th' whole '-sama' part." Many of the people present ended up with gaping jaws due to shock at that. "Second of all, I don't care what ya got goin' on, if ya got a problem with me an' how I do stuff, ya gonna have t' tell me." Anyone who _didn't_ have an open jaw now did, because generally a king didn't hear those complaints. Someone else heard them, and made them sound better for the king.

Shippou chirped jokingly, "I have a problem with your speech."

Inuyasha sent the runt a scathing glare, "Okay, anyone 'cept th' brat got a problem, ya tell me." Shippou pouted. Inuyasha thought back to his youth, when he was being taught by his mother. She had made sure he had a general idea of what princes were required of, but had not honestly had time in her brief existence to really train him. Aside from that, it wasn't expected that Sesshoumaru would ever die without an heir.

"An' thirdly," Inuyasha continued, remembering the comment about only three hundred people, "why ain't anyone had kids? From what I remember, demons multiply like damn rabbits."

Most of the people cast side glances at Kouga's mate. She stuck her chin proudly in the air before saying, "Reproducing has been outlawed for safety purposes. Too many good demons gave their lives for their brats."

Inuyasha scratched his head. "What do ya do if someone _does_ have a kid?" Inuyasha asked curiously.

"Cull them," Jyiana responded immediately.

Inuyasha glanced pointedly at Regege, who could be no older than twenty human years. "Really?" he asked sarcastically. "Start having babies or somethin'. An' when ya done with that, lemme know."

Kouga asked, "What will you be doing?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Ya ain't got much o' a kingdom t' run. Ya prolly'll do good enough on ya own for a while, so I'm goin' hunting." Of course, by 'hunting', Inuyasha meant he was going to find Kagome and her kidnapper and _kill_ the bastard who took her. There was a sense of urgency around him because he knew Kagome was going to be in her nise-hanyou state soon if she wasn't already.

xXx

Three weeks. Ran had counted three weeks that had gone by and still no Shin'ichi to show for it. No, she was stuck in a plain room in a very tall building with another girl who seemed to be sick and in pain. They got two meals a day and medication in a syrup form was given to the other girl by a grubby looking creature that didn't seem entirely human.

But she had already begun to question what was human and what wasn't; she was clearly not at home, and she was starving. The tiny bit of soup she got twice a day was usually half-burnt and tasted like plastic. At first she had refused to eat it, but the creature that brought the food didn't seem to care if there was still food left when he took the tray away.

He never brought anything better, so she learned very quickly to eat what was provided.

Ran still didn't know who the girl was. She didn't talk except that first day when she had spoken a few sentences proving that they were kidnapped. Ran had tried to coax the girl into conversation but she got nothing so eventually she gave up trying and started planning her escape. She was a strong martial-artist, and she was going to use that to her advantage as much as possible.

Since it had been so long since Ran heard even the tiniest peep from the other girl in captivity, she was very surprised when the other girl finally spoke up after three weeks. "Inu…yasha…" she said, opening her strange yellow eyes. She looked at Ran with a frown on her face, and Ran was able to watch as the yellow receded from the whites of her eyes and remained only in her iris. "No, you're not Inuyasha," she sighed.

Ran looked at the girl for a long moment before shaking her head. "I don't even know an Inuyasha." She wondered if she should then remain silent or try continuing the conversation.

The other girl made up her mind for her. "I'm… I'm Kagome. What's your name?"

"Ran," she said. "Do you know how we got here?"

Kagome shook her head. "I just know that he kidnapped me. It wouldn't have happened if I just told Inuyasha he was after me, but he has my mama and my brother. I have to do what he says or he'll hurt mama and Souta."

"He _who_?" Ran asked.

"Inuyasha's brother…" Kagome whispered, almost as if she didn't want to say the name for fear of the man hearing her. "He wants to get something… He… he seems to need something."

The door creaked open and a tall man with a very long silver-haired braid walked into the room, garbed completely in black. His hands were covered in black gloves. His pale skin was flawless and his golden eyes were merciless. He was very different from the creature that kept bringing in trays of food twice a day.

Kagome stared up at the man in obvious fear and breathed, "Sesshoumaru."

Ran didn't doubt that the man in front of them was 'Inuyasha's brother', their captor.

Sesshoumaru smiled cruelly, "You've finally made nise-youkai form, I see." He didn't give either girl a chance to respond, which was just as well because there really was no telling which of them he was actually talking to. It seemed like both, but he couldn't be sure. "The city is absolutely tearing itself apart looking for both of you." He chuckled. "But it is just as well because after today, they'll _know_ where you are, and they won't dare do anything about it."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked nervously, a question Ran also wanted to know the answer to.

"I'm talking about how I'm going to send both of you back to _school_ now that you're coherent again." Sesshoumaru grinned rather viciously as he said it, as if it were the most devious plot ever.

"Why are you doing this?" Ran asked. "I don't know about her, but I _will_ run away!" she knew it was stupid to point that fact out but she couldn't help herself.

Sesshoumaru had already thought of that and he said, "If you want to run, go right ahead; I won't stop you." He even stepped out of the doorway and waved his right hand at the open space as though offering for her to leave. "However, you may want to think of the safety of your mother and father first."

"Mom…and…dad?" Ran couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Leave this girl out of it, Sesshoumaru!" Kagome said suddenly. "She didn't do anything to you! It's me you want, so let her go!"

"Oh so true, my feisty little miko," Sesshoumaru chuckled again. "But the master did say I could have some fun, and you two are going to provide me with immeasurable amounts of amusement."

Ran winced at the humor in Sesshoumaru's voice. She didn't want to know what amused him.

**End.**


	25. Bad Realization

**Title: Followed  
**Author: Tsubasa Kya  
_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the "Case Closed" universe, and neither do I own anything from the "Inuyasha" universe. _

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Chapter 25

Three weeks. Shin'ichi groaned as he crossed yet another day off the calendar. It had been three weeks since Kagome and Ran disappeared, and they were no closer to finding either of them. Not only that, but Ran's father Kogoro Mori was no closer to finding the Midnight Thief, and the police were no closer to finding the serial killer that was loose in the city.

No more people had died since the last one at Kagome's school, but the killer was still out there.

"This is killing me," Shin'ichi muttered as he slid into bed. He hadn't really had a good night's rest since before Ran got sick. Beside the fact that his girlfriend had disappeared, he had—thanks to his parents moving back home—lost his opportune edge of living with a detective that could get him close to crime scenes to investigate the Black Organization.

And tomorrow? His mother was driving him and Inuyasha to school, despite both of them protesting against going. Heiji wasn't being forced to go! Heiji was off from school, helping his dad work on finding Kagome and Ran. Why couldn't Shin'ichi be a part of Heiji's family?

xXx

Morning came too quickly for Inuyasha. He could hear the unnatural voice of the well-creature laughing at him in his mind. It seemed to taunt him. _Be careful what you wish for_, it said to him. _You just might get it._

He rubbed his eyes. It said that a lot to him lately. He was beginning to think everything that was happening was because he made that wish. All he wanted was to see Kagome once more before he died; why did that have to have negative consequences attached? Wasn't that action supposed to be all sweet and noble of him?

Obviously not, or at least, not to the well-creature it wasn't.

He looked toward the door when he heard a soft knocking. "What?" he called.

"Dear, are you ready for school?" It was his new supposed mother. He supposed he didn't really have anything against her. She was weird, but she was alright enough. Still… he would have preferred his own mother back.

"No." he told her, "Is Conan?"

"I was just about to go wake him, dear. Please get ready and be down in the hall. I know you don't want to go, but you need to." She didn't say any more to him. He could hear her footsteps tromping down the hall toward 'Conan's' room. Since Inuyasha was supposed to be under the impression that Conan was really a kid still, Shin'ichi wasn't able to sleep in his own room.

With a heavy sigh, Inuyasha got up off his window seat and got his school things together. When he realized he smelled like a dirty dog, he trudged down the hall for a shower. He hadn't taken the time to shower in a week. He wondered how Kouga and Shippou handled it… they were full-demons, so their noses would be better than a simple half-breed's. Inuyasha had sifted through so many smells, trying to determine where Kagome was taken, but there was no trail. It was as if she'd drifted away on air.

He might have been able to believe it, if it was really Sesshoumaru behind her disappearance. However, even if it was Sesshoumaru's scent all over her dad's place, it _wasn't_ Sesshoumaru who was behind her disappearance.

But it _was_ someone who knew Inuyasha. It wasn't Kouga, or Shippou. Inuyasha was a gut-instinct type of guy, and his gut was telling him neither of them was involved. He turned off the water and got out. Before too long he was dressed, had his hair tied back and bandana in place, and he was ready to go.

He made his way downstairs, shouldering his backpack. All he wanted was his best friend back. He wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her he would make all the harmful things go away. But he couldn't. It was really sad in a cliché sort of way; when he first met her, the only thing he'd wanted to do to her was kill her. Then she told him to sit, and he obeyed.

Shin'ichi looked worse for wear. He probably got even less sleep than Inuyasha did, and Inuyasha didn't feel like he'd slept at all.

The drive to school was quick and quiet. Inuyasha still hated cars. If he could, he would destroy the metal contraptions… actually, that was an inaccuracy: he _would_ destroy them if he was allowed to. It wasn't really a matter of could he or couldn't he, because he most certainly could.

When Yukiko had dropped him and Shin'ichi off in front of the high school, both boys were surprised to see Heiji at school again. He was being dropped off by his mother as well. Shin'ichi said goodbye to his mother and the two boys approached Heiji as Yukiko took off into traffic.

"Be safe, sweets," Heiji's mother told him, kissing him on the cheek before she too got back in her car and drove off.

"I thought you were helping your dad look for Ran and your sister?" Shin'ichi demanded.

"I was," Heiji said, "an' then we got this. Here." He took out a slip of paper from his pocket and held it out. Inuyasha took it quickly to read. "That's jus' what th' note said. Forensics's got th' real thing, lookin' fer prints and stuff."

"What's it say?" Shin'ichi asked.

"'Ya will find th' girl is free t' roam, but do not touch her, do not speak t' her, do not contact her 'r tragedy will befall her.'" Inuyasha read. "I ain't gettin' it." Inuyasha admitted. "What girl?" Shin'ichi snatched the note to read it himself, silently cursing Inuyasha's odd accent.

"K'gome," Heiji said. "An' Mori got a note too." Shin'ichi was instantly attentive, looking up from the note to stare at Heiji expectantly. "His said Ran would be at school, but if Mori tried to leave his work, Ran would be th' next one killed by th' serial killer."

"Wh-what?!"

"An' ya know what that means," Heiji said.

"What does it mean?" Inuyasha asked.

Shin'ichi said, "It means Kagome and Ran being kidnapped is somehow connected to the previous four murders in town."

**End.**


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